Lasting Impressions
by ErynBenae
Summary: When a group of humans unexpectedly ask Soten to help them protect their princess, she has no intentions of accepting, but when they present an opportunity to face a person from her past she becomes determined to redeem herself from an embarrassing first impression. [After Final Act][Shippo, Kohaku, Rin and Soten]
1. Chapter 1 - Unexpected Request

**Hello Everyone, this is my first story that I am posing online so of course it is about one of my favorite pairings Soten and Shippo with a little Rin and Kohaku included as well. The story is rated for later chapters and I am not sure where I will post chapters if they end up being not suitable for the site, but I will make sure you know where to look if I end up writing anything like that.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy and feel free to comment, critique and review as I would love to improve the story.**

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 **Revision Note: I did not change much of anything in any of the revised chapter. I was manly rewording some things and fixing a few weird mistakes.**

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The air in Raimei Valley was thick with humidity and heavy rain clouds blocked the sunlight, painting the sky a dark grey color. Among the tumbling hills of the valley a large cluster of humans soldiers trudged across the wet grass, moving swiftly and quietly with a strong sense of determination. They were there on a mission, but unbeknownst to them their presence had not gone unnoticed. They were being closely watched from above by a red snake like figure. It weaved about the clouds, following their movements before it disappeared silently into the gloomy atmosphere.

"LADY Soten!" a frantic voice rang out distracting the thunder demon from her peaceful meditation. She had been monitoring the horizon from the rooftop of her home that was wedged amongst the mountains, but the shriek of her approaching familiar made her break concentration.

"What is it Koryu?" She spoke through her teeth as her loyal dragon descended before her.

"My lady - humans - a whole fighting squad - they are approaching from the east" Koryu's long scaly body coiled across the roof tiles as he heaved, completely out of breath from his haste. He had seen the soldiers as he hunted in the grasslands of the valley, and immediately returned to report.

"Don't you think I know that already?" Soten twitched in frustration at the thought that Koryu would underestimate her so easily. "Do you think me so incompetent that I can't keep up with what's happening in my own territory?"

"N-No lady Soten" Koryu quickly realized his mistake in assuming this would be news to his master. "I just thought I would offer my assistance in dealing with them".

"Please Koryu, I'm a lot stronger now than I was the last time a threat entered this valley" Soten smirked and extended her arm to point in the direction of the main building of the house. "Now fetch Raigekijin and bring it to me, I will handle this myself".

Without hesitation Koryu raced from the rooftop to retrieve the fabled thunder pike for his awaiting master. Ever since Soten became strong enough to hold the blade upright without falling, she had been training with it, and she certainly proved she could wield the family heirloom with an ease that rivaled her late brother Hiten.

As Koryu returned he promptly surrendered the weapon to Soten and moved to execute her next command before she needed to voice it. He used the tip of his tail to tap the top of his head three times transforming himself into an ominous looking storm cloud. Soten climbed onto his back with Raigekijin cradled in her arms, and they departed from the house to meet the invading humans.

The traveling group of soldiers had covered a decent amount of land in the short time that elapsed, so they were definitely moving with a purpose.

"Alright Koryu let's give 'em a welcome," Soten raised her blade to the sky, and as if commanding nature itself a swift bolt of lightning shot from the dark clouds above her and struck right in front of the human's path.

"A DEMON!" one of the soldiers cried out as he scattered to a safer distance with his comrades, catching only a glimpse of the thunder demon as she lowered to the ground during the chaos.

"State your reason for entering Raimei Valley," Soten used the most commanding voice she could, but she was actually curious to learn why they were there, seeing as they weren't heavily armed.

"We cannot be slowed by this demon men," the human commander yelled out to the other soldiers. "We must reach our destination, so stand your ground and fight at all cost" they continued to ignore Soten and only further infuriated her already escalated temper.

"Hump" she huffed as the men raised their bows, and sent a flurry of arrows coming her way. She gripped the staff of Raigekijin and began to twirl it around her wrist. The helicopter motion easily thwarted the projectiles with little effort from the thunder demon, and she sucked her lip in disappointment.

"Why you…MEN PREPARE TO ATTACK AGAIN!" the humans began to ready themselves for another attack, but this only made Soten grow more insulted.

She might not be the most intimidating when it comes to looks, seeing as she got her father and eldest brother Hiten's facial features. She had matured nicely, but she found it easier to hide her girlish figure beneath her armor and baggy pants. Her thick black hair was normally bundled into a messy braid and it complemented well with her tan skin. The most threatening part about her was her red eyes, but even their abnormal color never stopped people from underestimating her. She frowned at the thought that these humans would think her so weak that they could actually stand a chance of defeating her, so she planned to make them regret ever raising their weapons for a fight.

"Fine then, you wanna do this the hard way," she swung her blade just in front of the soldiers and a lighting bolt ripped away the earth making the men tumble to the ground. "FOOLS! I am the last remaining member of the thunder demons, you dare attempt to best me with these weapons."

"Thunder…demon?" the soldier's leader spoke under his breath as Soten began to swing again. "NO PLEASE WAIT!" the leader charged in front of his men and fell to his knees at Soten's feet.

"Huh?" she froze her attack and stared at the man before her.

"If you are the last of the thunder demons then, might you be Soten?" he raised his gaze to look at her.

"You know of me?" she returned her pike to an upright position waiting for an explanation before deciding if she wanted to continue their fight.

"Yes, we have been sent to locate the thunder demon Soten by out lord. I do apologize, we were informed to locate a woman, so you understand that we were confused," he spoke honestly, truly believing that Soten was indeed a boy.

"Excuse me…" the expression on Soten's face suddenly began to radiate silent death and the men inched away from their leader allowing him to dig his grave alone.

After seeing his men cautiously retreating to a safer distance the commmander looked slowly toward the angry demon. Her eyes burned with rage, as the blade from her thunder pike swung down and landed just shy of the sensitive organ between his legs. He shuttered scooting backward from his place on the ground where he landed dodging her assault.

"I – AM – A – WOMAN!" she spoke each word slowly as she moved closer to the quivering human's face, shaking him to the core at the thought of his insulting mistake.

"S-Sorry, it's just – you look…" he stumbled over his words pausing to think of something to save his skin.

"I look what?" Soten asked as menacing as she could, hoping the man would consider it a life or death situation. She wouldn't actually kill him over something so stupid, but he had to pay for embarrassing her.

"You look so powerful and I have never seen a woman as strong as you" the man swallowed hard, before the words came spilling from his mouth so fast it was difficult to catch what he said.

"Nice save," Soten decided to be merciful and end her little game. She was anxious to know why they were looking for her, so she removed her blade from the man's personal space and stepped back so he could allow himself to breath again. "So, why have you sought me out?"

"That's right," the man recovered his composure and stood up. "We are here on behalf of the Fujiyama clan and we have a request from our master," he dusted off dirt from his pants and smiled.

"Fujiyama?" Soten paused for a second to see if she recognized the name, but she was certain that she had never heard it before.

"The Fujiyama clan is one of the ruling human families of the east," he took the liberty of enlightening her after seeing her confused expression. "Our lord has asked us to find you."

"For what business?" Soten wanted to put the pieces together on her own, but she was finding it harder to understand the more he spoke.

"Our lord has made a pact with the demon clan in the north," the man began to explain using his hands to gesture as he spoke. "He wants to integrate the two houses to strengthen the region. He and the northern demon's ruler have discussed ways to accomplish this, and they have decided to use the developing bond between humans and demons to their advantage.

"Why would demons need humans to be strong?" Soten chimed in after listening carefully to the man's explanation.

"Not all demons are out to destroy human life. Some demons, like the lord of the north, just want to live peacefully and befriending humans is a good way to accomplish that."

"That's all fine and dandy for YOU, your lord and the demons of the north, but what does that have to do with me?" Soten was starting to get frustrated that the man had yet to get to the point of why he was seeking her.

"Well our lord has arranged for his daughter to marry the great demon's son, but her life is in danger" he reached into his kimono and removed a large pouch of money. "He wants to request that you join a team to protect the young princess from any humans or demons who might wish to prevent her union with the prince. We will, of course, pay you handsomely" he offered her the money, but she turned up her nose.

"What makes you think I would accept?" she couldn't bring herself to figure out how they knew her name, let alone why they would bother her with this problem.

"Well we have noticed an improvement here in Raimei Valley since you took control of the thunder demon territory."

"Improvement?" Soten questioned his last statement in genuine disbelief. She wasn't sure how she should respond to the unexpected praise.

"In the past the valley was much too dangerous for humans, but in the recent years humans have been migrating and thriving here," he was most likely referring to her brothers who used to chase people away. She failed to see a reason to continue the practice. "I'm sure, being as strong as you are, you have noticed their settlement, yet you still allow them to remain. The people give you much praise, and we figured since you have shown sympathy and mercy toward them, this request would be a reasonable one," he paused but it took Soten a moment to register all he just said.

"Just because I don't chase them away like a barbarian, it doesn't mean that I am some kind of human loving teddy bear" she turned away making sure to fold her arms to look tough.

"Maybe we were wrong to make that assumption, my apologies for that," the man seemed saddened by her refusal and turned to his men to see the disappointment on their faces from the unsatisfying feeling of a wasted journey. He sighed then spun around to face the pouting demon with what seemed like a new spark of determination. "I would ask you to please consider the offer," he dropped to his knees before her bowing low and holding his position until she turned to witness his display.

"Why would I? It makes no sense," she once again turned away from the man this time to hide her flushed cheeks from his display of groveling.

"You see lady Soten we have gathered together the best warrior's we could find for this task. In fact the other members of the team are humans and demons that are directly connected to the group responsible for the defeat of Naraku. We know good quality fighters when we see them and we are certain that you are among the greatest" he spoke confidently, sure that his flattery would change her mind.

"So if you have such strong members why waste time on me?" she was disheartened at the mention of Naraku. She never found out who survived the battle and she was terrified to hear that someone she hoped to see again might have perished.

"Each of the members are extremely skilled in a specialized area. There is a young male demon slayer who has expertise in demon and human territories."

Soten's mind immediately went to the thought of the demon slayer Sango, whom she met in her childhood. She had known her to have a younger brother, and she pictured the slayer possibly living in peace with the womanizing monk, so long as they both lived through the final battle.

"There is also a young human woman who is rumored to have traveled with a very powerful demon throughout her youth, before studying under a great priestess."

She wasn't sure who this 'great' priestess might be, but she remembered the feisty woman Kagome who insisted she was the most adorable thing on the planet. It made her shudder to think about that woman pinching her cheeks mercilessly, treating her like some plaything.

"Lastly there is a young lad that is quick on his feet, a master of disguise. If I am not mistaken he is quite the accomplished kitsune."

"Shippo," she whispered to herself and finally faced the man with all her previous feelings of embarrassment vanishing. "Fine,"she conceded "tell this lord Fujiyama that I will accept his offer. She smirked and pushed away the money that was given to her for payment. "You needn't pay me money. I have my own reward in mind."

"ALRIGHT MEN SHE AGREED!" the human leader shouted to his men as they cheered. "Our castle is about two days east of here. Lord Fujiyama will be expecting everyone's arrival in five days, so take your time to prepare. When you arrive tell the guard that you are there to see chief Raizo, i'll brief you and introduce you to your comrades." He spoke excitedly then turned to his men with raised fists. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, RETURN HOME MEN!" he shrieked to his smiling soldiers and they turned to take their leave.

"Koryu," Soten called her familiar after she watched the humans leave the valley. "We can go now," she commanded as he lowered to the ground before her so she could climb on his back. He stayed silent until they got close to their house and he felt like he had to give his opinion on the situation.

"Lady Soten are you sure that you have chosen the right path?" Koryu had been listening to the conversation from the clouds and he noticed that she was set on not going until the man mentioned a kitsune. He was sure that she drew the same conclusion as him about the fox in question being Shippo, but he wasn't sure if her feelings might overwhelm her.

"I know what I'm doing, and I know HE will be there."

"That's what I'm afraid of, I didn't want you to go overboard when you face him again - " he was quickly silenced by Soten's fist striking his head.

"I know how to handle myself, and now is my chance to prove to that fox had no right to treat me like a child."

"B-but at the time you were a child-" Koryu was once again silenced by the sharp pain of Soten's knuckles against his skull.

"SHUT UP KORYU! Just take me home so I can prepare," she pouted and turned her attention to what would soon be unfolding.

Three days time and she would come face to face with HIM again. This would be her chance to prove how strong she really is.

Last time they met, they were evenly matched. Fighting Shippo was the first real battle she ever fought, and she let him get away. Ever since then, every fight or threat that entered the valley ALWAYS underestimated her, and she couldn't help but somehow blame it on her failure of a first battle. She thought it would be fine and she would eventually forget. Yet, she thought about him way too much, even after their battle, so it only made sense that to clear her mind she would have to prove that she could be just as strong, if not stronger than him. She just needed the opportunity, and her patience finally paid off.

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 **So the story begins. Thank you so much for reading!**

 **See you next chapter!**

 **-EryneBenae**


	2. Chapter 2 - You Again

**Hello again! I hope you have been enjoying what you've read so far, but if you are here on the second chapter then I am assuming that means you are so...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

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 **Revised Note: I did not change much about the chapter, just reworded some things and changed some stuff that sounded weird.**

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"Lady Soten please I beg you reconsider," Koryu sped through the sky in cloud form with the brooding thunder demon on his back. They had been traveling for several hours and were getting close to Fujiyama castle.

"Would you give it a rest, I already told you I'm doing this, so you begging ain't gonna work," Soten was more determined now than when she first decided she would accept the human's offer.

"But won't seeing the fox only bring about bad memories? I know he treated you like a child before, but at the time you were very young and he didn't want to cause problems because you're a girl"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!" Soten's rage cause a bolt of lightning to flash across the blue sky. "I don't care what reason he had. HE...WILL...LEARN!" she struck Koryu on the head as she voiced each word, forgetting that the dragon returns to form when hit. She was taken aback when he transformed leaving her tumbling toward the earth at full speed.

"MASTER!" Koryu flew into action catching her by her pants leg which he grasped between his teeth. "You're being reckless already" he sighed mumbling the words without fully opening his mouth. She flailed around in anger before folding her arms and pouting.

"SHUT UP KORYU!" she yelled up at the dragon as she hung suspended upside down watching her braid swish in the wind.

She frowned for the remainder of the trip,letting Koryu scold her for already letting her emotions get the best of her. They arrived at Fujiyama castle, landing outside the gate with Koryu in the glory of his dragon form. Soten jumped from his back and straightened her armor. The guards trembled under the sight of the large red dragon before them and they readied their weapons in attempts to look threatening.

"You there...what business do you have here?" one of the guards starred in her direction, quietly hoping she was not a dangerous visitor.

"I'm here to see Raizo,"she remembered what the chief had told her when she accepted the job and she didn't want to waste time with guards.

Without another word they returned their weapons to a resting position and opened the gate. Soten nodded to Koryu and he flew upwards into the clouds, watching her as she entered. They had agreed that because of his size he would wait outside unless she called for him.

She made her way to the building in front of her and paused at the door, listening to the muffled voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying or how many people were inside, but she took a deep breath and put on a face of confidence. She wanted to be ready to face whoever she might see behind the door. Entering the room the conversation fell silent and all eyes were trained on her.

In the room the human general she met earlier sat as he chatted with two other people. He had never introduced himself properly but she assumed him to be Raizo. To his side was a young woman with black hair and bright round brown eyes. She wore an elegant, yet simple, kimono and sported a smile that oozed kindness. Beside her was a man a few years her senior wearing a demon slayer's outfit that reminded her strongly of the one Sango wore. His brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and his freckled face projected a grin in Soten's direction.

The remaining cushions in the room were empty, so she predicted that she would not be the last to arrive. She held back a sigh after she realized Shippo was not present, but she dared not show any weakness in a room full of humans.

"Miss Soten," Raizo bowed a greeting "please take a seat".

Soten plopped down across from him and dropped Raigekijin to the floor in front of her.

"So you are Soten?" the demon slayer's smile widened. "I am Kohaku," he bowed and she nodded silently in return.

"I am Rin," the chipper young woman beside Kohaku chimed in excitedly and Soten couldn't help but crack a smile at her.

"These are your comrades, though we are still waiting on another" Raizo leaned back lazily on his cushion as he spoke.

"Name's Soten, nice to meet ya"

"We've heard a lot about you, it's comforting to know that you are on our side" Kohaku chuckled and Soten grinned internally, from the praise.

"I've heard things about you guys too" she let her head swell from the nice treatment she was receiving.

The group sat and chatted for a while before, thumping footsteps outside the door caught their attention. Raizo moved to the door and opened it to see several guards running about in a panic.

"What's going on?" he stopped a soldier and waited for an explanation.

"It's the princess sir, she has disappeared and the lord has requested she be located immediately"

"Why didn't you report to me" Raizo scolded the man and he hung his head.

"Well you were busy with the guests-"

"Don't mind us" Kohaku stopped them before Raizo got angrier.

"Yeah, is there anything we can do to help?" Rin asked with genuine concern in her voice.

"We wouldn't want to trouble our guests" the soldier put up his hands defensively.

"Nonsense we are here to help, that's what we were hired for" Kohaku stood and dusted his clothes.

"We will help you search the grounds" Rin moved beside Kohaku and they prepared to head outside.

"Yeah I was getting bored anyway" Soten sighed as she realized she couldn't just sit there and ignore the situation. This job was starting to look exactly like she feared, babysitting a spoiled princess.

The group wasted no time and split up to search. Rin went with Kohaku and Soten tagged along with Raizo. They were searching the garden when they heard yelling from the fence.

"PRINCESS!" a guard stood at bottom of a tall tree looking up into the branches. From the distance they were Soten could see small bare feet and the trim of a pink kimono.

"Oh no what is she doing?" Raizo huffed and started to move toward the commotion with Soten following silently behind.

"Please my lady be careful!"

"Come down from there!" they heard several men attempting to coax the young woman but she climbed to a higher branch and onto the tall fence surrounding the castle.

"WHY IS MY FATHER AND EVERYONE ELSE THINK THEY CAN RUN MY LIFE!" she shouted through a cracking voice as she steadied herself on the narrow fence.

"Please lady Miyu-" as the man began to speak a gust of wind blew turning is gentle words to horror as the young girl tumbled backward off the fence. It happened so fast Raizo and Soten didn't have time to react before they heard her scream and a loud thud on the other side of the wooden barrier.

"LADY MIYU!" Raizo yelled and immediately moved toward the gate to go around to the fallen princess.

Soten felt her heart drop a little when she saw the girl fall, but she snapped herself into action and jumped the tall fence in one leap landing outside expecting to see a hurt human woman. Instead she saw the princess rubbing her head as her body straddled a man, who was apparently in the way when she fell.

"Ow that hurt" she whined and pouted just as Raizo and a couple other people made their way over.

"Lady Miyu, thank goodness you're okay" Raizo sighed in relief, but Soten found herself extremely irritated.

"GIRL ARE YOU CRAZY!" Soten yelled not caring that she was talking to a noble's daughter.

"WHO ARE YOU TO YELL AT ME?!" the princess shot back not used to being yelled at.

"A LOT SMARTER THAN YOU OBVIOUSLY!" Soten frowned extremely annoyed that she couldn't hit the girl. "I know not to go climbing up fences in a tissy just because DADDY made me angry" Soten teased as the girl's cheeks turned bright red.

"WHY YOU - " the princess attempted to stand but a sharp pain in her ankle forced her back and she tripped on the unconscious man who broke her fall. She started stumbling, but a set of arms caught her.

"Are you alright?" the smooth unknown voice caught the young girl by surprise and she looked up flustered at the man who caught her. She blushed at the smiling face looking back at her and Soten felt her eyes widen.

"Shi-Shippo?" Soten stuttered somewhat in shock even though he was the main reason for her agreeing to this job.

"So you remember me huh?" Shippo's smile turned into a cheeky grin revealing his fang which slightly hung from his bottom lip.

"You two know each other?" Raizo looked surprised that they were so familiar with one another.

"Oh we go way back" Shippo chuckled and winked a green eye at Soten.

"That woman is so cruel" Miyu clung to Shippo helplessly after she realized Soten's reaction. She couldn't completely read it, but she wanted to see if she could make her angry.

"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble last time we met," he laughed and Soten shot him a dirty look.

"DON'T TREAT ME LIKE A CHILD!" she pouted making herself look even more childish.

"Well you were arguing with a young girl"

"I was not arguing with her, I was just trying to make her see how she could have gotten hurt."

"No she was being rude" Miyu buried her face in Shippo's shirt.

"No lady Miyu, Soten is right" Raizo spoke up after listening to the conversation unfold. "You were being reckless and you shouldn't try something like this again."

The young woman only frowned and turned up her nose.

"These two will both be accompanying you to your marriage meeting Miyu, so please try to get along" he begged.

"I have no problems with Mr. Fox," she huffed referring to Shippo and then turning a glare to Soten. "But I don't think I can deal with HER."

"Well that's too bad," a powerful voice rang from behind the group. It came from an older man with a thinning head of hair and a long swaying beard.

"Father" Miyu gasped as the man approached her. He looked her up and down as she was sheltered in Shippo's arms to support her weight off her bad foot, then he looked to the man slumped over on the ground.

"Thank you for saving my daughter" he looked Shippo in the eye not showing any other emotion.

"No, no she helped me" Shippo pat the girl's shoulder in gratitude as he spoke. "This man was a thief I was pursuing and she happened to have really good timing. Unfortunately she hurt her ankle and I caught her. I should really be thanking her though" Shippo replied politely and Soten held back a gag.

"Regardless of that I put my trust in you" he nodded then gestured his guards to assist his daughter from the strange man's arms. "Raizo continue the briefing tomorrow. For now let our guests rest" he turned and followed the men carrying his daughter without speaking another word.

"Yes sir" Raizo bowed then turned to Shippo and Soten. "Please Miss Soten forgive me for asking another favor of you, but might you show Shippo to the waiting room? I will join you shortly after I retrieve Rin and Kohaku."

"Yeah sure, no problem," she nodded and watched him walk away before leaving herself with Shippo in tow.

She found herself struggling to come up with something to say to him and it was beginning to make her angry. All this time she imagined having some witty remarks when she saw him and the only thing she could managed was silence. It didn't help that he was just as quiet. His stoic calmness made her wonder what he was thinking. She wanted to believe that he was just a flustered as she, but is was unlikely he would have problems handling stress, based on how easily he dealt with that brat of a princess.

They arrived at the waiting room and the awkwardness of the atmosphere was driving her insane. No one else had arrived and Shippo sat on a cushion near the door prompting Soten to remain on the far end of the room. She sat with her legs twitching, searching for something to say, but before she could think straight Shippo's laughter broke her concentration.

"What's so funny?" she asked more curious than angry, but tried to sound irritated at his outburst.

"Nothing" he spoke as his chuckles subsided and flashed her an innocent smile. "I just hope we will get along, seeing as we will be comrades."

"Whatever, it's not like I am here to make friends or be all buddy, buddy" she muttered to herself but she was more than loud enough for Shippo to hear.

"Oh so you are here because of the money?" he teased knowing that she was being difficult on purpose.

"LIKE HELL" she spat back. "What do I look like accepting money from humans. I am here because WE have a score to settle".

"A score?" Shippo's interest was definitely peaked.

"Don't play dumb, Mr. High and mighty" she pointed a finger at him. "Even now you still treat me like I am something to be mocked, but you won't be able to do that once I beat you."

"Beat me?" Shippo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You want to fight me again, aren't we passed all these childish games?"

"Fight you, oh please" Soten laughed as smug as she could. "I am simply here to begin my journey to greatness, by taking back the respect I lost when I let you walk away."

"So we aren't going to fight?"

"Why? I would obviously win" Soten gloated.

"So you don't want to fight me, but in order to meet your full potential you feel like you need to settle a score with me so you accepted a job from humans and travel all this way just to prove something to me?"

"..."Soten was completely silent. She hadn't thought about the way that sounded before she said it. Why would she want to prove anything to him. They were kids when they met, and their battle ending in a tie meant nothing. For a moment she was regretting ever accepting to come in the first place. She hated to admit it, but maybe Koryu was right about her overreacting.

Soten's face was twisted into what looked like a strange mix of intense concentration, anger and probably a little bit of constipation. Shippo hesitated, but he felt if he didn't say anything the thunder demon might hurt herself.

"NO!" before he could speak Soten let out a loud outburst and painted a devilish grin on her face. "I will not let you sway me" She once again made sure to point directly at Shippo for dramatic effect. "You were the first one to ever fight me, you realized you couldn't beat me, then you had the nerve to walk away like it wasn't worth your time because you found out i'm a girl. You started it, and ever since then it has been rinse and repeat of the same thing, and every time since I have crushed my opponent, but not you. So once I prove that I can be better than you at EVERYTHING, even if it means protecting a little brat from some weak ass demon, I will know for a fact that losing to you was a fluke."

"Who said it was a fluke?" Shippo sat quietly through her entire rant and when he finally spoke up he was surprisingly serious. "So childish Soten, to hold a grudge for so long" he chuckled and she growled. "But I suppose if the memory of losing to me was so bad for you all I can do is obliged your wish for redemption." He paused cutting her a cunning glare. "But I suppose the bigger question is, CAN YOU DODGE THIS, SMASHING TOP!"

He pulled a hand from his inner kimono and whirled a wooden top a Soten making her fall back and cover her head. She remembered this attack and the fact that the toy would certainly grow much bigger than it's normal size with a force that could disorient a foe easily.

She shielded herself but nothing happened until she felt a small thump on her shoe. She looked down to see the small toy top wobbling to a stop at her feet. Then the uncontrollable laughter of the spinning top's owner pierced the silence.

"Oh man I got you" Shippo managed to talk between breaths. "You were so scared"

"What?" Soten looked around confused, "YOU JERK!" she shrieked as she hurled one of the sitting cushions at his face, smacking him head on.

"Okay Soten" He stopped laughing and smiled her way. "But if you want to beat me you are going to have to try as hard as you can. I have a thing about not leaving girls in danger and Miyu is pretty cute, so I will be extra protective".

"Do you know how much of a perv you sound like right now?"

"Not pervy, I just think that childish innocence should be protected, why do you think I have been so nice to you?" He teased sticking out his tongue.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME A KID AGAIN!"

"Well you have to admit, you have been failing all day at NOT being childish"

"Whatever" was once again all she could muster as a reply. He WAS right, that argument with Miyu didn't really leave the impression she was hoping for when she saw him again. The embarrassment of the situation began to settle in and she found herself hoping Raizo would come through the door and save her from herself, but as time ticked on the atmosphere fell back into a calming silence, and she let herself relax and steal a few unnoticed glances at the silent kitsune who fiddled with the green flame he produced at his fingertips.

He had definitely gotten taller, which she noticed as they walked together. Boys normally grow slow, but he was now quite a few inches taller than her. His large childish green eyes had grown into his features, giving him a much more mature face. His reddish brown hair now hung in a long ponytail down his back and stopped just before the end of his shoulder blade. She also made a note that he was now able to hold a humanoid form without any sign of his fox nature, aside from his claws, fangs and tail which swished near his feet. Even his fox like legs had transformed, so Soten was sure he could change from animal to human form at will. Either way he definitely seemed more mature and that would mean she would have to be level headed if she wanted to keep her cool.

Soten's mind drifted and she forgot she was staring at Shippo who noticed and smiled back at her. He reached into his sleeve and removed the small spinning top that he tricked her with earlier, turning it so it sped across the floor and into Soten's leg. She snapped from her daze and pinched the toy between her fingers examining it on all sides. She returned her focus to Shippo only to see him with a goofy smile plastered on his face. He winked at her, and her face instantly reddened. Thinking for a way out of being caught staring at him, she drew her hand back to throw the top back at him, but the door opened stopping her in her tracks.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" Raizo entered followed by Rin and Kohaku.

"Not at all you didn't take that long" Shippo shook off his apology and stretched, groaning away the stiffness in his joints at the same time.

"Ah, Shippo you made it" Kohaku beamed as he entered and saw the red head leaning on the wall.

"Of course" He smiled back and Rin waved at him from behind Kohaku's shoulder. "You know I couldn't leave you and Rin alone, who knows what you would do" Shippo acted like the comment meant nothing but the blush on Kohaku's face told a different story.

"What?" Rin looked confused, but Kohaku intervened before Shippo could say anything else.

"Nothing, you know Shippo he is always thinking he is everyone's protector. He is just worried about you is all…" He shot the fox an evil look and only got a chuckle in return.

"Ah to be young again…" Raizo looked on the group with envious eyes drawing everyone's attention at his strange comment. When he realized the puzzled stares he recomposed himself and bowed to the four guests respectfully.

"Unfortunately the days events have delayed our discussion, but the princess is fine and that thief you were after has been taken into custody Shippo. Anyways i'm sure you would like to rest so I will tell you more details of your mission in the morning. For now please follow me to your rooms," Raizo turned and everyone eagerly followed tired from the commotion earlier.

After Raizo showed them all to their respective quarters he retired himself and left the others to relax. Soten finally found herself alone and able to think, but she really didn't know what to make of the day.

She couldn't imagine how awkward she must have appeared. She was so focused on yelling at Miyu earlier that she didn't notice that she looked foolish arguing with the young girl like they were kids playing on the street. She squeezed her fist and realized that she still had the toy top gripped in her hand. Unable to think of a reason not to, she figured she might as well give herself one more chance to face him.

She slid from her room with the toy in her hands and stepped swiftly down the hall, with her socks making tapping noises on the wood as she moved. The servants of the house were scattered about, but none of them seemed to notice her as she glided by. Eventually she made it to Shippo's door and paused, considering if she would only be making her day worse if she knocked. Before she could decide what to do, a soft shove pressed into her shoulder.

"BOO! did I scare you again?" Shippo appeared beside her and she rolled her eyes at his lame joke.

"No, you didn't" she huffed and extended her hand with the toy top sitting flat on her palm. "You did leave me with your junk though" she gestured to her hand and Shippo looked at it and smiled.

"Keep it"

"I don't want your stuff" she whined pushing her hand closer to him.

"But when we first met you always wanted my things, and that one is handmade to spin really fast" He spoke about the toy like he was giving her a sales pitch. "Not to mention I have plenty" he flashed his inner kimono and the imprint of several small tops lined his pockets.

"And you call me a child when you walk around with pockets full of toys".

"Well I use them for my magic, but i'll let you keep this one for good luck" He tapped her nose and entered his room leaving the blushing thunder demon in the hall.

She grumbled to herself and returned to her own room flopping onto her bed after removing her armor and undoing her braid to let her black hair fall over her shoulders. She sighed and decided she didn't feel like thinking anymore. She wasn't prepared today and Shippo made her flustered, but tomorrow she will be prepared.

Closing her eyes she let the sound of the creaky castle sing her to sleep. As she drifted she held her hands close to her chest, and in her palms she gently squeezed a small wooden top. A dinky little trinket with no real value, and when she thought about it, she probably should have thrown it away just to show Shippo that his teasing meant nothing to her. But, she decided hold onto it, at least for now.

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 **Thanks again for reading. See you in the next chapter!**

 **-ErynBeane**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Journey Begins

**Hello again. If you have made it this far then I am glad you are enjoying the story and I hope you continue to do so. If you are not enjoying it then I am sorry, but I would like you to explain what you are doing here if you really don't like it *looks at you funny***

 **As always, feel free to comment, and critique.**

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 **Revised Notes: I did not change much about this chapter, just redid some of the wording on parts that I thought sounded weird.**

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Soten groaned as the sunlight made the blood behind her eyelids turn an obnoxious orange color. She stretched and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She had dreams about her situation most of the night and she wasn't sure if she was prepared to take on this task. In all honesty she didn't really care what happened with the spoiled princess Miyu, but now that she was here she felt obliged to continue. She squeezed her palms and felt the shape of the small toy top between her fingers.

"Shippo" she whispered to herself as she held the colorful toy up to the stream of light flowing in from the adjacent window.

Sighing loudly to the specs on the ceiling she sat upright and tucked the spinning top into her bag. It wedged between her stack of blank paper and the box of colored wax sticks she used to draw. Shippo had given those to her too, he called them crayons, and over the years she had worn them to nubs. There was no way she would ever be able to let Shippo know she still had them, it would be much too embarrassing, yet she still brought them along for their sentimental value. She stared at her bag and chewed her lip, annoyed that she was once again focused on the bothersome fox.

Not wanting to think about him anymore, she jammed the flap of her bag closed and sprang to her feet. She once again had to deflate herself before she lost her composer for no real reason, other than she was angry at herself. She assumed that she had awoken early, because there was no movement beyond an occasional house servant walking pass. Knowing she would have to meet with Raizo and the others later in the morning, she could think of nothing better to pass the time than taking a bath.

After gathering her things she trudged to the bath house and slid through the door. She stepped through the steam and quickly reddened when she was met with a smiling Rin soaking peacefully in the water.

"Good morning Soten" Rin sang excited to see her.

"Morning" Soten shied away and turned her head in another direction. "Sorry I didn't mean to walk in on ya."

"Of course not, you came to take a bath right? So come on" Rin splashed the water beside her and Soten hesitantly obeyed.

She normally would never do anything so private with other people, but Rin's kindness would make her feel rude if she refused. She knew it was common for people to bathe together, yet she felt so awkward sitting across the tub naked with someone who was a virtual stranger to her only inches away. She hugged her knees to her bare chest and sank as low as she could without submerging her face.

It was quiet for a few moments, then Soten felt her hair separate and turned to see Rin examining the strands between her fingers.

"You have pretty hair Soten" Rin squeaked, making Soten flinch anxiously at her excitement.

"T-thank you" she stuttered a bit uncertain how to carry on with the friendly conversation.

"You don't have to be so nervous. I am sure we will get along well, and you already know Shippo"

Soten grunted slightly and sank further into the water. She was hoping to take her focus away from Shippo, but Rin's statement made her realize that the subject was almost unavoidable for her.

"How DO you know Shippo?" Rin asked curiously as she waited quietly for a response.

"Well, when we were kids...I might have...kinda...tried to...kill him and his friends" Soten avoided eye contact as she let the words stumble from her lips.

"That's funny" Rin chuckled, obviously thinking that Soten was not being serious. After several seconds of silence Rin glanced at her to see she was not laughing along with her. "You're serious? You really tried to kill them?"

Soten nodded.

"All of them?"

Another nod.

"Even Inuyasha?"

"I was a kid okay! I had crazy ideas, but my target was Shippo" Soten punched the water and Rin couldn't help but giggle again.

"Any particular reason why?" She spoke through a chuckle, still finding it hard to believe that the lone thunder demon would attempt to take on Inuyasha and his entire group.

"There were...family reasons…" Soten seemed to think carefully about her words. "It's not like it matters much, it's old news now…" She said the words but her expression showed that she was not completely confident that they were true.

"Well i've known Shippo and his friends for a while now and they're not ones to hold grudges" Rin smiled when she saw Soten perk up. "Besides I think Shippo is happy to see you"

"You-you do?"

"Well we could always just ask him" Rin's smile turned slightly devilish as she teased the frazzled demon beside her.

"NO!" Soten blurted panicked by Rin's remark.

"Relax, I was joking."

Soten melted into the water and glared at Rin, only making her grin more. She eventually sat up after the heat from her cheeks settled and eyed the woman curiously.

"So how do you know Shippo and Kohaku and everyone else?"

"Well I was traveling with Inuyasha's older brother, Lord Sesshomaru." Rin began and Soten's eyes widened.

"THE WESTERN DOG LORD!" The words came out a lot louder than she had intended, but she couldn't really help it. It was not every day you heard of a noble demon lord like Sesshomaru traveling with a human.

"Yep, that's the one" Rin wasn't shocked by her surprise. "He kinda took me in when I was a kid. I don't really have any family, so he was kinda like my family. Eventually though he decided that I should know what it was like to live with humans, so he left me in the care of Lady Kaede and Miss Kagome for training".

"Kagome" Soten shuddered remembering the bubbly woman and all her cheek pinching glory.

"Yeah, she has a thing for adorable children, so I am sure you had a time when you met her. But she IS very kind though, I promise".

"So what's Kohaku's story?" Soten pushed the conversation on, already wishing to forget the hugging incident with the priestess from years ago.

"Well he's Sango's younger brother. You know her right?"

"Yeah, the tough demon slayer woman who was always trying to keep that perv monk in line."

"Heh heh" Rin stifled her laughter. "Yeah that would be Miroku, they are married now."

"NO WAY!" Soten let another outburst slip. "You're telling me she actually tamed the guy?"

"I wouldn't say 'tame' but he has most certainly learned to control himself around women, lest he face the wrath of Sango".

Both Soten and Rin burst into laughter attracting the attention of a passing maid.

"Are you okay in their ladies?" She chimed from behind the door and the girls covered their mouths to stop their outburst.

"Yes we are fine Miss thank you" Rin responded through breaths and they continued to laugh quietly.

After soaking for a while the girls changed and retired to the waiting room they were in the day before. Shippo and Kohaku were already waiting with breakfast laid out for all of them.

"Good morning" Rin chirped as she plopped in front of a tray.

Soten followed slowly behind and sat next to her nodding to the boys. "Sup."

"Sup yourself," Shippo managed to choke out a response through mouthfuls of food.

"You ladies look relaxed" Kohaku studied their calm demeanor as he sipped his tea.

"Yep, the bath is amazing and me and Soten did some girl bonding."

"Oh yeah? what does that intel?" Shippo asked as he finally put his bowl down.

"You know, chit chat and joking...talking about the past"

"Did she tell you how she tried to kill me?" Shippo's smile made the question sound even more bizarre than it was.

"Hmph, lucky you I didn't succeed" Soten pouted.

"Aw come on you couldn't actually hurt a face like this" he twisted his fingers into his cheeks to make dimples as he sucked his lips into a kissy face.

"Lets test that theory" Soten balled her fist after throwing a chopstick and landing a hit directly in the middle of Shippo"s forehead.

Rin and Kohaku couldn't hide their amusement, and by the time Raizo opened the door they were nearly out of breath laughing.

"You all appear to be lively today" Raizo grinned as he let himself into the room. "I'm glad to see that yesterday's events didn't dampen anyone's spirits."

"Not at all, Miyu is going through a major change in her life. It's understandable that she might react...extremely" Rin elegantly described the young princess's outburst better than anyone else present.

"Still needs a smack in the face for that mouth of her's though…" Soten muttered under her breath, not failing to earn a chuckle from Shippo whose ears were sharp enough to pick up her mumbling.

"I would still offer an apology on behalf of Lord Fujiyama" Raizo bowed deep and rose with a serious expression. "I would also like to review the plan for your mission in more detail. As you know princess Miyu has been promised to the son of a demon lord. Since the announcement of the engagement our castle has received several threats from humans and demons alike who are opposed to the union. They were of no worry while Miyu remained here under her father's eye, but the time has come for her to pay a visit to her betrothed and his family before the wedding. Our master fears for her safety on the road and hired all of you to be her bodyguards..."

"Question," Soten interrupted. "You guys have, like an army of men from what I have seen yesterday. So why not protect her yourselves?"

"Well my lord thinks it is best to keep the traveling party small in hopes of using stealth to our advantage. After gaining a large amount of intel he felt you four would be best."

"Makes sense," Shippo agreed. "We ARE pretty awesome."

"And stealth is what you are good at young fox. I am sure we will not regret employing your help. The rest of you also have skills that are needed. The journey north is not going to be easy. We've mapped out a route that should get you to your destination without drawing much attention" Raizo pulled a map from his sleeve and spread it on the floor so they could all see clearly. "There is a back road that will take you through several small villages to restock supplies. Once you make it to the mountain pass you won't run into another town until you get across. The other side of the pass might get a bit more difficult to maneuver because there are certain clans we would prefer you to avoid."

"Me and Shippo know that area well" Rin pointed her finger over the map.

"Mm Hmm, we come from a village near there, and Kohaku has passes through all the time" Shippo agreed immediately recognizing they would pass about a half day's walk from Kaede's village.

"That's good to know. It should be easy for you to navigate then" Raizo seemed relieved to hear that that they had knowledge of the area. "Once you make it from there you'll have to climb one more mountain. The clan is located at its peak." As he finished talking Raizo rolled up the map and handed it to Kohaku who tucked it away to be used for future reference if needed. "We have prepared some previsions for you and Lady Miyu will be ready within the next couple of hours. Please gather your things and meet in the courtyard. I'll be there to see you off." Raizo stood and moved to the door." Good luck friends, and thank you again" he smiled as he excused himself from the room.

"Hopefully this will all go smoothly" Kohaku stretched twisting his back after leaning forward for so long to view the map.

"It should...if SOMEONE would stop arguing with the person we're supposed to protect," Shippo mumbled the last part loud enough for Soten to hear.

"SHUT IT FURBALL!" Soten pouted crossing her arms and turning her nose up. "She started it anyway, and if you hadn't shown up trying to act like the hero she might have learned something."

"What? Like how to pout like a child?" Shippo teased copying Soten's stance with an exaggerated motion.

"Eh!?" Soten's face turned red from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Not able to come up with a fitting rebuttal, she immediately resorted to a battle shriek followed by a clumsy chase around the room trying to exact revenge on the taunting fox.

Rin and Kohaku stood lost in the center of the chaos, trying not to laugh as they attempted to disperse the situation.

Soten grabbed Shippo's tail and lunged forward with a balled fist, but he dodged her easily ducking just out of reach. It wouldn't have been so bad if Raizo hadn't reappeared in the doorway to check in on all the commotion. Instead of hitting her target or the door, Soten's knuckles planted square into Raizo's nose, knocking him backwards and over the railing and into the courtyard.

"Oh my gosh" Rin ran to the man's side as Soten stood shocked.

"Oh…"Raizo groaned gripping Rin`s arm to pull himself back to his feet. He held his nose as blood began to stream steadily from his nostrils falling to his shirt, dotting it in bright red droplets.

"I-I…" Soten stuttered flustered for words after the embarrassing mishap.

"She didn't mean it. Right Soten?" Rin helped her snap from her trance.

"Yes…" Soten bowed. "I am SO sorry" she apologized all the while scolding herself for letting the fox rattle her so much that she could make such a stupid mistake. Here she was trying NOT to act like a kid, then something like this happens and she looked like an even bigger fool.

"Please forgive us," to Soten's surprise Shippo bowed right alongside her as he pleaded with the man to accept their apology. "It was in part my fault as well so, please don't be angry at Soten."

She couldn't believe that he was sticking up for her like he was, though she did agree, it was partially his fault.

"Not at all, this face has taken worse beatings," Raizo leaned his head back, as Rin instructed and managed to break a smile. "You sure do pack a punch though" He joked even though it was obvious he was in some pain.

"Don't you think BOTH of you should escort Raizo to the medica?" Kohaku spoke with a tone that could only be described as a father scolding his children.

"I think that would be best," Shippo agreed, and he and Soten wasted no time guiding the man to the healer.

"What are we going to do with those two?" Kohaku shook his head as he and Rin watched them turn the corner.

"They are lively that's for sure" Rin smiled. "Raizo will be fine though, sore, but I don't think anything is broken".

"That's good," Kohaku let out a sigh of relief. "I suppose we should go and prepare then?" He gestured for Rin to walk with him and she happily complied, stepping beside him as they headed back to their rooms.

They walked down the hall side by side still digesting all the excitement that just unfolded.

"Is it just me, or do those two get along too well?" Kohaku spoke through a smile nudging Rin as they strolled.

"Nope, I noticed it too. Shippo's normally super nice and smooth, so i've never seen him act like THAT unless he's messing with Inuyasha."

"You think he's holding a grudge toward her?"

"Grudge?" Rin was puzzled by the thought.

"I mean for trying to kill him."

"I don't think so, but Shippo can be a hard guy to read"

Why did she try to kill him anyway?" Kohaku furrowed his brow as he pondered the question in his mind.

"She didn't really say, but she must have had a reason, right?" Rin smiled easing Kohaku's expression." She's a good person, I can tell. We have nothing to worry about."

"I will always trust your judgement Rin" Kohaku blushed slightly forcing Rin to look away and hide her own rose flushed cheeks.

"Well i'm not always right" she stared at her feet, not sure how to just accept the unexpected praise.

"You're one of the smartest people I know, and the kindest. That's why I wanted to come on this mission. Not just for Miyu, but because I wanted to look out for you...you know...make sure you were safe" Kohaku hadn't noticed he was still talking, but when he started he couldn't stop himself.

"Kohaku," Rin spoke softly and finally looked up at his freckle spotted face.

There was a brief period of awkward silence, then for a moment their eyes met and they stared, unable to break away. Kohaku took a step closer and unconsciously gripped her shoulders leaning in but hesitating, and never diverting his stare. Rin could feel her heart racing and she chewed her bottom lip waiting for him to do what she knew he wanted to. He inched closer stopping only a couple inches from her face. He moved for her lips when a yelping squeal pierced the silence and completely ruined the mood.

Turning toward the noise, they saw Shippo and Soten looking away in random directions, trying hard to appear oblivious to what they had walked in on. Though their own red faces were plastered with the evidence that they had seen more than they needed to. Rin and Kohaku pushed away and stood at attention, trying not to look as flustered as they were.

"Yeah...we were gonna tell you guys to speed things along, but...we see you're busy" Shippo scratched his head and retreated around the corner, leaving Soten to talk her way out of the awkward situation alone.

"I-wa-eh" She swallowed hard choking on her words and failing to think of anything to say. Without actually making even one coherent sentence she turned on her heel and fled after Shippo.

Rin and Kohaku scooched away, not able to look at each other. A few moments of silence followed before Kohaku straightened up and sighed.

"Well...see you at the courtyard?"

"Yep" Rin responded as fast as she could and they took off to their rooms to pack.

Heading to the courtyard Shippo and Soten were already waiting with Raizo who had a bandage covering the knot on his nose. They both had a pack swung around their backs, talking casually amongst each other as Rin and Kohaku approached.

"Good, you're all ready I suppose?" Raizo greeted them, smiling as best he could with his sore nose.

"Oh they're more than ready," Shippo teased as Soten nodded in agreement.

Rin and Kohaku blushed averting their gaze and prayed for a distraction to change the subject. Their prayers were answered when Miyu flew past them and clung to Shippo's arm like she was reuniting with an old friend.

"Mr. Fox," she squeaked nestling her face in his sleeve. "I never got to properly thank you for helping me."

"No need, I really didn't do anything" Shippo's smile made Soten bite her lip to hold back the urge to make a smart remark.

"That doesn't really matter, I'm still happy you were there" She squeezed tighter and Soten grumbled to herself as she walked past the pair and up to the gate, pretending not to care.

"Now Miyu I want you to behave yourself" Raizo scolded her almost like an older brother, before turning to the group and bowing. "I'm sorry my master could not be here to wish you farewell, he was called away on business, but please take care of Miyu. She is important to all of us here."

"We will" Kohaku reassured as he and the others began to head to the gate were Soten waited.

She had backed away to clear her breathing air of the spoiled girl's annoying mindless chatter, but she made sure she could at least still hear the conversation. She found it hard to imagine that Miyu's father didn't care enough to see her off, but her mind was quickly clouded by the girl fawning over Shippo. He didn't really reject her either which made the situation even more annoying. How could she manage to prove herself if Shippo was busy playing flirt.

She huffed as the others headed her direction and stepped out of the gate in front of them, not bothering to wait. Things should start to get interesting from here and she was sure she was ready for anything the world had in store.

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 **Another one bites the dust. Hope you enjoyed the read.**

 **See you next chapter!**

 **-ErynBenae**


	4. Chapter 4 - Test of Courage

**Hello! As always there is not much to say except enjoy the story and don't forget to review, comment and critique.**

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 **Revision Notes: I did not change much in this chapter just reworded some stuff that sounded weird.**

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The group had been walking for a few hours before Miyu started complaining about her feet hurting. Soten was surprised that she lasted as long as she did, she expected to hear whining as soon as they left the castle gate. She let herself fall behind the group and walked slowly, so she could watch everyone from a far. She had a clear view of Miyu's tiny body wading up and down as she tried to keep pace with Shippo who lead the pack with Rin and Kohaku not far behind.

She hadn't let go of Shippo's arm the entire time, and now that she was crying about her feet, she was getting extra attention from the attentive fox. Eventually Shippo stopped and squatted to a knee, letting her slide onto his back so he could carry her piggyback style.

It irritated Soten to no end that he could be so flirty, and her face showed it. She scowled with her arms crossed, grinding her teeth to quell the temptation to say something she shouldn't. Rin glanced over her shoulder and sighed when she met the pouting demon's gaze. She allowed herself to fall back to Soten's side and walk alongside her.

"What's the matter Soten?" Rin examined Soten's face with her duey brown eyes.

"Nuthin".

"You sure?" Rin probed further trying to get an honest response.

Soten was silent for a moment, but eventually turned to Rin with a frown.

"You know what I don't get?" She started, then paused to look at the fox and princess in front of her. "How can he act so friendly with her? Likes it's nothing."

"I think it's just because Shippo is a friendly guy. Girls tend to gravitate toward him, it's always been that way," Rin seemed to stare into space as she thought of the years she has known the fox. Then the realization that Soten's anger was most likely the result of a much more interesting emotion forced a smile across her lips. "Could it be Soten, that maybe you're just a little jealous?"

"Wha-what!?" Soten felt her face burn. "Absolutely not, why? Why would I be jealous?" she went into a hushed rant making Rin giggle at how frazzled she became. "I'm just irritated that's all. I mean he is supposed to protect her, not fawn all over her."

"I think he is kinda protecting her...in a way," Rin's response caught Soten's interest and her ears twitched intrigued. "Miyu is still pretty young, and this whole experience has got to be scary for her. Shippo sees that for whatever reason, she feels comfortable around him and he probably wants her to stay that way."

"What does he care, that's not his job?"

"In a way it is. The happier she is the less problems that she will cause for the rest of us right?"

"Huh," Soten huffed, but didn't argue. Rin made a lot of sense and though it still didn't sit right with her, she let Rin's words put her at ease a bit.

They walked for several more hours before Shippo stopped and let Miyu glide gently from her perch on his back. She smiled at him and plopped down onto a rock as the others closed the distance between them.

"What's the matter Shippo?" Kohaku was the first to reach the two who waited patiently for the remainder of the group.

"Well we thought it might be time to take a break," Shippo sat on the ground and stretched his legs out in front of him.

"Seriously we barely-" Soten started to protest but was cut short by the growling in her stomach. She grit her teeth and cursed under her breath before sighing and falling to the ground across from Shippo.

"Yeah I could eat too," Rin giggled slightly and placed herself between the pouting thunder demon and Kohaku.

They set up a small campfire and started roasting some of the food they had brought with them. As Soten sat in silence she once again questioned why she would do this just to prove something to the fox. She couldn't deny that Rin and Kohaku seemed like nice people, but she felt that they were on another level than she was. Not strength wise of course, she could definitely beat them all in a fight, but they all seemed so relaxed about everything, while she found herself freaking out all the time. Perhaps, Koryu was right when he told her she should work more on her people skills.

She had told the dragon after the first night at the castle that he could return to Raimei to act as guard in her absence. With him gone, it would take too long for her to travel back on foot. She pondered in her head the pros and cons of walking away and hadn't realized that the campfire conversation had continued without her. Eventually she felt a nudge and looked up to see Rin smiling at her.

"You're quiet," she poked at Soten's arm.

"Huh" Soten looked up from her daze and scowled as she cut her eyes toward Shippo and Miyu who sat beside one another. She playfully twirled her hair as she laughed at the trick Shippo showed her with his fox fire.

"Still jealous?" Rin teased. "Why don't you just go join them," she tapped Soten's shoulder and she stumbled forward drawing Shippo's attention.

Soten scrambled back to an upright position and frowned at Shippo's toothy grin.

"Wanna play?" he blew the green flame toward her and she flinched forgetting it was harmless.

"IF I was to play your game I would win, so I don't see the point" Soten boasted crossing her arms and returning his grin with her own smug smile.

"Oh yeah?" Shippo poked her nose with the tip of his claw.

Soten chomped her teeth down as hard as she could attempting to bite at his finger before he pulled it away laughing.

"Why are you laughing? Bring your hand back and i'll tear a couple inches off" She continued to snap at him like a piranha as he continuously waved his hand near her mouth.

Miyu pouted seeing Shippo so playful with the stubborn demon. Not wanting to feel left out she grumbled and stood from the rock she sat on.

"How about," she started as everyone paused their antics to listen. "We test if Soten really could beat all of us in a game."

"Huh?" Kohaku looked confused and Miyu smiled.

"Let's not head to the village tonight. Let's have a little challenge" she clapped her hands excitedly.

"No way," Soten protested. "We were supposed to get you to the village by tonight. Why should we fall off scheduled for a stupid game?"

Miyu's face soured and she looked disappointedly at Shippo who pat her back reassuringly.

"Well let's hear her out," he sounded intrigued and Soten growled. "Come on Soten it might be fun" he teased only making her frown more.

"Whatever," she grumbled and Miyu squealed.

"So what kind of game is it," Kohaku chimed in after staying quiet to see what would happen.

"It's a courage test."

"Courage test?" the others asked almost in unison.

"Yup," Miyu nodded as she began to explain. "We all head out in different directions in the woods when it gets dark. We'll try to make our way to a bolder along the river where a purple flower blooms. If you can make it there, pick one and get back here the fastest you win".

"Um, I hate to break it to you, but a lot of us are in the woods all the time," Soten sneered. "It won't be much of a challenge if it's something we do everyday."

"Well then let's make it a test of courage AND skill," Miyu seemed aggravated by Soten's remark and quickly revamped her plan. "If you catch anyone else in the group with their flower and take it, then you eliminate them."

"I can see that being kinda fun," Kohaku and Shippo nodded to each other, but the girls seemed skeptical.

"Wait," Rin interrupted. "We can't just leave Miyu alone out in the woods by herself. It would defeat the point of us trying to protect her."

"I didn't think of that," Kohaku seemed somewhat saddened, but knew they couldn't risk Miyu's safety.

"Well why not have one team of two, so Miyu will always have one of us there to protect her" Shippo looked to his teammates. "It's been quiet, and i'm sure if something did show up all of us would be able to protect her solo, at least until the others could come for backup."

"I guess that could work," Rin agreed and Miyu's face lit up.

"Yay!" she squealed. "I want - " she was cut short by Soten's poor imitation of her voice.

"I wanna go with Mr. Fox," She teased.

"SHUT UP!" she glared at Soten. "You didn't know what I was gonna say."

"Oh? So you weren't gonna beg to be on Shippo's team?" Miyu's face turned red and she stuck her younger out in Soten's direction.

Shippo stepped between them and chuckled.

"Now, now ladies no need to fight over little old me" he mused and it was Soten's turn to get flustered.

"Yeah right, in your dreams!" she shot back, punching at Shippo's arm.

"How about we make this random," Kohaku intervened before Shippo's joke earned him a smack down from the thunder demon.

He picked up a thin twig and broke it into four pieces with only one piece being smaller than the others. He placed them in his hand and shuffled them around situating them to all look even between his fingers.

"We'll draw for it," he presented the twigs to the group. "Shortest twig will be Miyu's protector."

"That sounds fair," Rin smiled reaching for a twig and the others did the same.

"HELL NO!" Soten shriek was all they needed to hear to know the results. She had obviously drawn the shortest twig and she would be damned if she was stuck with the spoiled brat for the night.

"Well Soten you WERE the one who started this whole drama. You insisted you would be best, so it should be easy for you right" Shippo gave her a cheeky smile, knowing it would make her angry.

"SHUT IT FUZZBALL!" She pulled a hair from his tail making him jump, and wrap the furry appendage around his leg and out of her reach.

"Well if you would have just kept your mouth shut," Miyu pouted only turning Soten's wrath to her instead.

"Girl- ".

"It's already getting dark," Rin interrupted not seeing anything good in letting Soten get angry. "Why don't we start spreading out."

"I think that's a great idea" Kohaku agreed and he and Rin herded everyone toward the thicket of trees beside their camp.

Soten could tell there was no way of getting out of playing, so she held her tongue in favor of finishing the game quickly. When they were a small ways into the trees they stopped to survey the area before Kohaku spoke up.

"Is everyone ready?" he prepared them all, and they nodded. "Alright, we'll walk opposite directions from here until the sun completely sets. When it's dark, go to the river and back okay?"

"Got it," everyone confirmed the plan, before trotting off in their respective directions.

As they walked Miyu made sure to keep herself a nice distance from Soten. She kept a steady grumpy face, but Soten didn't blame her. She would rather not be there with HER either. The girl was practically jogging to stay ahead of her and though she tried not to, Soten had to say something.

"You know you walk awful fast to have such sore feet," she prodded, knowing that it would agitate Miyu enough to get a response.

"I would rather have sore feet than to have to walk next to you," she shot back making the older woman roll her eyes.

"Oh yeah, like you are SO pleasant to be around," Soten made sure to exaggerate to stress just how sarcastic she was being.

"Well being pleasant is not something YOU would know much about. Your idea of a first impression is yelling at someone".

"And your idea of dealing with daddy issues is throwing a temper tantrum and almost killing yourself from falling out a tree".

"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS PICKING FIGHTS!" Miyu finally got angry enough to turn and face the thunder demon. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE YOUR FATHER CONTROL YOU!"

"You're right, I don't" Soten remained uncharacteristically calm at her outburst. "But I do know that there are other ways to fix the things that you don't like, and being a brat certainly isn't one of them."

"Whatever, if you don't like my attitude then you don't have to stay near me. I can take care of myself" Miyu's anger was still showing clearly on her face as she moved to continue her march. "I didn't want to be out here with YOU anyway"

"Right, you wanted to be alone with Shippo," Miyu flushed at the mention of the fox demon's name. "Since this whole thing started you've been acting like he's the one you're marrying."

"So?" Miyu snapped "he's nice to me, and it's not like YOU have a relationship with him, so why do you care?" The question seemed innocent, but it was obvious that Miyu was trying to pry into Soten and Shippo's history.

"I suppose you're right. We don't have a relationship." Soten replied very matter of factly. "But, when we are talking about someone who knows you're engaged, do you think he will ever take you serious?"

"Well he seems to like spending time with me, more than you," Miyu proceeded to pick, as she turned to walk, this time slower so the conversation was easier to continue.

"I don't need him to pay attention to me, I don't need anything from anybody to handle taking care of a simple job like babysitting you. Hell, I don't even need YOUR approval, but someone like him ain't gonna solve your problems. Only one who can do that is you." Soten walked ahead as Miyu stopped, slightly shocked that the demon would talk to her so forwardly.

She really didn't know how to respond to Soten's remark. In fact she never imagined her to be so calm through the whole conversation. It was clear that she made her initial comment to stir up trouble, but she almost sounded like she was trying to give her advice, in a weird kinda way.

They walked silently for a while, both seeming to be lost in thought. As the sun was practically setting behind the trees, they began to make their way to the river, keeping pace, but moving in a more focused pattern. Even after all the fuss she made about not wanting to stand near her, Miyu found herself inching closer to Soten as the darkness started to settle.

They were covering decent ground until the unmistakable feeling of a demon aura stopped Soten in her tracks. She furrowed her brow and gripped the hilt of Raigekijin, that was strapped securely to her back. Miyu could see Soten's defense go up and she immediately felt a wave of panic.

"What's wrong?" she almost whimpered the words, but managed to keep her voice hushed.

"Something's here," Soten strained her senses, but she couldn't pinpoint a location on the aura.

"Is it one of the others? Is it a demon? What do we do if it is a demon? Should we be turning back?" Miyu's questions came one after another and Soten's eyebrow twitched as she silently hoped the girl would be quiet of a moment and let her think.

"How should I know?!" she gave a hushed rebuttal to the questions as she felt Miyu gripping the edge of her amor.

"I don't know, didn't you say you felt it?" She was so rattled she hadn't noticed that she was clinging to the very person she claimed she didn't need to protect her.

"Yeah, but I ain't psychic," Soten scowled and tugged Miyu so she was directly beside her. "Stay close and don't panic. If it's a demon i'll take it out, the others should be able to handle it too, it seems pretty weak, but we should be cautious."

Miyu nodded to Soten's instruction and they moved along quietly, aside from the occasional twig snapping under their feet. The atmosphere eventually began to relax, as nothing ominous appeared to be jumping out any time soon. Miyu slowly started to let herself fall behind after she realized she was hugged up to the thunder demon. She hated to admit it, but she felt safer with Soten within arm's reach, and that is where she kept herself as they trudged through the brush.

She had been so focused on staying on pace with Soten and not making any noise, she failed to notice the looming figure in the darkness. She didn't even have time to react when a clawed hand secured itself around her mouth and pulled her into the shadows.

Soten had continued on, oblivious to Miyu's absence. She could feel the unknown presence resurfacing and fading, like it was moving in zig zags with them. Eventually it faded completely and she finally felt it was safe enough to release her grip on her thunder pike and allow herself to breath.

"I think we should be okay now," she spoke but was met with no response. It didn't take long for her to see that she had made a terrible lapse in judgement. She was so focused on monitoring the aura she had failed to see that Miyu disappeared. "SHIT!" she cursed as she bolted into the trees to find any sign of the young girl. "MIYU!" she called but never got an answer.

As she moved she could make out the unmistakable pattern of footsteps in what little light she had from the moon. She followed them without question and ended up at the entrance of a stone cave. She felt the same aura from earlier tingling at her senses and she was certain the cave is where Miyu would have ended up.

She looked into the pitch black of the tunnel and gulped. She wouldn't be able to see a thing. Just as she moved to step inside a faint light glimmered in the corner of her vision and she spun around, whipping Raigekijin from her back and pointing it toward the approaching figure.

"AH!" Rin squealed as she tumbled back onto her butt, dropping her makeshift torch to the floor.

"RIN!" Soten lowered her weapon. "What the hell girl?" she helped her to her feet and grabbed her light which continued to burn despite falling on the ground.

"I should be reacting that way to you," Rin dusted her clothes and retrieved the light from Soten's grip. "I heard you yelling earlier for Miyu. Did something happen?"

"Well, I sensed something strange earlier, and when I turned around she up and vanished on me."

"Vanished?" You mean she left?" Rin asked unsure if Miyu had gone missing or just ran off to escape from Soten.

"No, she knew it might be dangerous" Soten looked into the cave. "I think something took her, and I am pretty sure it went in there."

Rin looked into the seemingly endless pit of nothing and found herself swallowing hard, like Soten had when she peered into the depths of the cave's empty abyss.

"Then there is no time to waste" Rin sounded shaky but she entered the darkened opening followed closely by Soten. The faint light from Rin's torch only barely allowed enough visibility for them to see a few feet in front of them. As they inched forward they could hear a small whimper. Moving with a bit more speed toward the cry, they made it to an opening where they could feel their feet slosh into something gooey and sticky that covered the floor. Soten could see the glint of the ooze shine on the walls around them, and she scrunched her face in disgust.

"Ew" Rin whispered under her breath, as her feet sank into the gel with every step.

"MIYU!" Soten could slightly make out the girl's figure lying in the dirt across the clearing.

She wasn't moving and Soten felt her stomach drop. She and Rin rushed over to Miyu's side and lifted her so her head could rest on Rin's arm. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she groaned slightly.

"What happened to you?" Soten felt herself release the breath she had been holding in when Miyu opened her eyes.

"They…" Miyu pushed the words out between short gasps. "They're...coming," she shook slightly as she spoke and Rin's eyes widened.

"They? Who is They?" Rin's questions went unanswered as Miyu drifted back to unconsciousness. "MIYU!" Rin tapped her face lightly, but she was already out. "Soten, we should get-" her words were cut short by a thumping sound of footsteps approaching from deeper within the chasm.

Soten and Rin both looked at each other, then toward the direction of the steps. Soten stood and grabbed Raigekijin.

"Rin can you make sure Miyu is okay?"

"Yeah, but you're not going to fight alone are you?"

"Don't think we really have a choice here. It would take to long to back track carrying Miyu."

"But there is barely enough light to see your own feet" Rin protested, hoping there would be another way out of the situation than fighting.

Her words only made Soten remember how much of a disadvantage she was in fighting in the cave. She sucked her teeth as the steps grew closer. Just as the creature sounded to be right on them, everything stopped.

Nothing.

It all went completely quiet. The girls sat confused for a moment. They looked around at what little of the area they could see, but there was really nothing.

"Um?"Rin paused and looked at Soten just before a roar ripped from the entrance of the cave.

The shriek caught them both by surprise as the force blew hot air around then extinguishing the small light and leaving them in darkness. Soten couldn't understand how the demon managed to get behind them, but with no visibility they were in trouble.

"RIN?" she felt around blindly, but could hear Rin's panicked gasps beside her.

"Wha-what happened?" Rin's voice was so low Soten had to strain her ears to hear her.

"I don't know," trying to stay calm Soten attempted as best she could to keep the worry from her voice, but without light she was starting to lose her composer. "Can you find your torch?"

"I think so," she could hear Rin gently place Miyu on the ground and pat the area. "Huh?" she paused, and instantly grew quiet.

"What's wrong?"

She didn't get the chance to answer before the room lit up and something grabbed both Rin and Soten at the same time. Soten's stoic demeanor finally cracked and she yelped as she fell back preparing to struggle.

"BOO!"

"AHHH!" Rin screamed, but stopped when she realized she was fine.

Looking behind them the girls came face to face with the 'demon' that had been terrorizing them. Shippo and Kohaku laughed uncontrollably as the girls caught their breaths. They looked beside them and saw Miyu sitting up and giggling and Soten felt the blood boil in her veins.

"WHAT THE SHIT!" she couldn't hold in her anger. They were tricked, it was obviously a setup and she fell for it.

"KOHAKU!" Rin punched his arm full force when she calmed down enough to see what was going on.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS!?" Soten scowled completely embarrassed.

"Come on admit it, we got you," Shippo poked at her and she swatted his hand away.

"I oughta kick your teeth in," she threatened and turned to the giggling Miyu. "You were in on this too?"

"Not originally," Miyu spoke through her chuckles. "Shippo grabbed me in the woods and he and Kohaku asked me to help them scare you guys."

"You went along with it?" Rin pouted. "You guys are so mean."

"Ah, Rin we're sorry" Kohaku seemed guilty for upsetting her.

"It was a test of courage," Shippo chimed in. "This was also ALL my idea, so don't be mad at him Rin."

"This would be your stupid idea" Soten grumbled.

"Got you didn't I?"

Her face turned red at Shippos remark and she turned away sulking.

"If it means anything," Shippo sighed and got serious for a moment bowing to the thunder demon with sincerity. "I'm sorry Soten."

She wouldn't show it, but her cheeks got even deeper.

"I mean we didn't mean to freak you guys out so much," Shippo could feel the awkward atmosphere rising, so he figured it was time to get Soten back to her old pouty self.

"Who said I was freaked out!?" she defended as she turned up her nose.

"You know we got you."

"Hump...I wasn't that scared" she proceeded to deny, only making the smile on Shippo's face spread. "How'd you get so much light down here anyway?" She changed the subject hoping he would let the it drop.

"Fox Fire," Shippo produced the flame from his fingertips and she could see the greenish tint matched the hue of the floating flames around them.

"Yeah, Shippo is amazing,' Miyu butted into the conversation, praising the trickster as she stood and swept away dust from her kimono. "I never knew he would be able to produce so much-" she stopped and her breath caught in her throat.

She slowly looked down and the others followed her gaze until their eyes rested on the gray tentacle grabbing her ankle. She was quickly yanked, falling face first as she was dragged away into the distance.

"Come on this isn't funny anymore," Rin looked worried.

"This isn't us," Kohaku and Shippo immediately took off to follow her screams.

Soten followed suite with Rin in tow, using Shippo's fox fire as a guide.

"MIYU!" Soten couldn't help yelling when she saw the girl coiled in the body of a giant centipede.

The creature flinched from the light, and squeezed tighter pulling a cry from Miyu. Soten prepared to attack, but the area went dark and she felt a hand hold tightly to her shoulder.

"Soten" she heard a whisper.

"Shippo?" she couldn't see, but she recognized his voice.

"Don't attack yet. If you hit it now, you might hit Miyu."

"We can't just leave her."

"No we can't, and you can't attack without light, so we have to work together."

"He's right," Kohaku approached from her opposite side. "That demon is poisonous, if we mess this up he can kill us all with the toxins."

"But-" she started to protest, but Shippo's hand clenched tighter signaling her to be patient.

"Here is the deal, Shippo you're the fastest and the quietest, not to mention you have the light source. You need to find us a vantage point. These guys have exoskeletons that are almost impenetrable, but if you find the weak spot Soten can definitely break it. Look for an area that is slightly discolored from the rest, then make sure Soten can find it easy."

"Cool, so let's go" Soten tried to pull away, but was still held fast in Shippo's grip.

"Not yet," Kohaku continued. "If you move too fast he will hear. They move based on sound. Their tail is also something to be cautious of, their stingers can kill too."

"Can you handle the tail?" Shippo directed the question at Kohaku.

"Yeah, I can handle it. We have to do this quick we are running out of time," he prepared to move, and this time Soten stopped him.

"What about Rin?"

"She's safe," he spoke confidently and stepped off quietly.

"Alright Soten, we are counting on you" he finally released his grip and disappeared.

She stood in wait, listening to Miyu's grunts. She wanted so badly to take action. Squeezing tight to her thunder pike she took a small step forward and felt the demon's attention lock on her.

In the dark it had the upper hand and she cursed under her breath. She grit her teeth and found herself wishing that Shippo would hurry up. She heard another gasp from Miyu, then a faint light caught her eye, just above the mid-half of the insect body.

"There" she didn't hesitate to put her blade into motion, swinging it into prime position to strike the beast clean through.

As she approached the creature released a battle cry and the large sharpened stingers on its back began to fly at Soten full speed. She wouldn't have time to block them, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity either.

The stinger approached her, yet instead of an impact she only heard the ricoshay of a metal blade. Kohaku had swung his sword directly into the piercer and managed to take a decent amount of length from it before his blade snapped in half leaving the appendage dangling and spewing a thick black liquid.

The demon reeled in pain but the distraction left Soten just enough time to strike. She made a show of twirling Raigekijin a few time to give a slight charge, then plunged it deep into the hardened exoskeleton shattering it before severing the elongated frame completely in half. The thunder pike's blade hit the rocky floor, as a dying shriek escaped the insect and it plummeted to the ground.

"NOW RIN!" Kohaku shouted and Rin bolted from the corner and pulled Miyu from the severed bottom half of the demon's body.

Kohaku stepped forward and struck a final blow to the demon's skull, hitting it clear in the temple. It twitched then curled into a tight ball before fading into a pile of the oozy fluid covering the cave walls.

"Good," Kohaku nodded, noting that Rin was able to pull Miyu away before the body rolled up. He had expected it to happen so he had Rin stay prepared to move fast.

"Nice work Soten," Shippo approached from across the clearing and she smiled smugly.

"That thing was no match for me," she gloated. "I would have taken it out sooner."

"Yes, but Miyu would have been caught in the crossfire," Shippo made his way to Miyu's side.

"Are you okay Miyu," Kohaku asked looking down at her wrapped in Rin's arms.

"I'm alright...but-" she flinched and held her arm where a deep gash was left from being in the centipede's grip.

"We should get to the village, or this will get infected," Rin examined the wound as she tore a cloth from her kimono to tie around it.

"Yeah let's get going," Kohaku helped Rin support Miyu and they followed Shippo's lead as he lit the way to the exit.

Soten paused to strap Raigekijin to her back before bringing up the rear. She hesitated to move. She was sure she sensed the same eerie feeling from earlier. She glanced behind her and saw nothing, but it still felt wrong.

"Soten!" Shippo yelled. "Come on or you'll get left behind."

"Coming," she sang as she shook off her nerves.

It was probably nothing. If none of the others felt anything then she was probably just still on edge from the battle.

She caught up to the group and they made their way into the open air of the night. Soten only hoped that the feeling in her stomach would go away.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! As always I hope you are enjoying the story.**

 **See you in the Next chapter!**

 **-ErynBenae**


	5. Chapter 5 - Potions, Poison and Love

**Another day another dollar...wait...**

* * *

 **Revised Notes: Nothing much changed in this chapter, just updated some of the wording that I thought sounded weird**

* * *

Miyu rested peacefully, nestled into Shippo's shoulder as he carried her piggyback. After the demon attack, the group wasted no time gathering their supplies and walking through the night to make it to the neighboring village. Miyu's arm had gotten worse over the few hours they had traveled, and it's swollen purple color was starting to make everyone nervous.

Kohaku had made it clear that the demon's poison was not something to be taken lightly, so the thought of Miyu getting a hefty dose only meant trouble if they couldn't get her help. As the huts of the village began to appear in the distance everyone felt their heart lighten a bit. It hadn't taken as long as they had expected, and the sooner they got Miyu help the better.

The village itself was small, you could see straight through to the edge without batting an eye. It was rather secluded on the back roads, but the people were surprisingly interested in seeing their unfamiliar faces, questioning them as soon as they stepped into view.

"You there!" A man called from the field he was tending, stopping to wipe his brow and look at the group as they strolled. "What brings travelers to these backwoods?"

"What's it to ya?" Soten grumbled, not feeling the need to explain herself to a nosey farmer, when they were already being pushed for time.

"What our friend meant to say was, we have a girl here who is sick. She really needs attention fast, so we are passing through for treatment" Shippo covered Soten's attitude flawlessly, understanding her want to speed things along, but restating her response in a much nicer way.

"Sick? She got some kinda contagion?" He seemed suspicious, but genuinely concerned.

"No, she was attacked by a centipede demon. She got a pretty good dose of poison, and she isn't doing well. Do you think you could point us to the medica?"

"A centipede demon, that's strange they are normally dormant this time a year…" He trailed off and Soten balled her fist frustrated at the delay.

"YOU GONNA TELL US OR AIN'T YA?!" she finally popped raising her voice from a grumble to a full on shout.

"Soten…" Rin grabbed her shoulder calming her enough to allow the man to finish.

"No, my mistake. That poison is no joke, real nasty stuff. Head up the road there and you will find the healer in the hut by the river."

"Thank you sir" Kohaku bowed on behalf of the group and they continued along to the rickety house at the end of the path.

"Excuse us," Rin called into the doorway not wanting to enter without permission.

"Please come in," A small voice responded and they all stepped in one by one.

The structure was much larger than the other houses on the inside, and there were various people lying on mats either bandaged or covered in blankets. An old woman shimmed from the back room where frantic gasps were echoing behind her. She bowed to the group and encouraged them to step closer to her.

"Hello," she spoke slightly louder than normal so they could hear her over the groaning that was now seeping from the curtain. "Is there someone who needs care, because I really don't have time for friendly visits"

"Oh yes, apologies" Rin returned her greeting and Shippo eased Miyu gently to the floor so she could be examined. "She was poisoned by a -"

"OOOHH!" A scream stopped Rin in her tracks and she looked at the woman concerned.

"This is the poison of the demonic centipedes, I know it anywhere," The woman continued seemingly unbothered about the commotion happening behind her. "You boy," she singled out Kohaku and he jumped, caught off guard from focusing on the yelling.

"Yes maim?" his head whipped around and she passed him a large empty bucket.

"Fill it from the lake and bring it back," she instructed and Kohaku sprung to his feet to carrying out her command.

"AHHHHH!" another outburst erupted and Soten couldn't hold her tounge anymore.

"Um…" she began, but the woman seemed to already know what she was going to ask.

"Miss Mako has been in labor now for about an hour, the pain is getting to her is all."

"Labor?!" Shippo seemed a bit shocked "Should Kohaku and I be in here then?" He questioned knowing it to be tradition to keep men out of a birthing room.

"We are a small town lad, we have no means for separate birthing rooms, and I cannot leave to tend every birth when there are other patients relying on me," she responded just as Kohaku returned with the water and sat it beside her so she could reach it.

She fiddled with a few bottles that were lined on a small rack near the floor. She eventually chose a yellow vile that she poured into the water and stirred slightly with her finger.

"Bring her here," She gestured for Shippo to scooch closer and she raised Miyu's sleeve so she could rest her wounded arm gently into the water.

It didn't take long for the blackish green liquid to begin seeping from the wound and into the cool mixture. The dark discoloration of Miyu's arm began to fade and after a few moments the woman lifted it from the bowl to look at it closely.

"She should be fine now, she will need to rest but she will be okay"

"AH!" as the woman finished they heard another cry from the laboring mother behind the curtain.

The healer rose to her feet and began to shuffle away only to be stopped by Rin.

"Please let me help," she stood to follow and the woman paused to look her up and down. She nodded, approving and Rin stepped with her behind the cloth.

"What's going on back there?" Kohaku looked puzzled remembering the screams, but missing the explanation as he went to fetch water.

"The miracle of childbirth" Shippo cooed as more outbursts escaped the room.

"Miracle huh?" Soten scrunched her face at the thought of the pain the woman must have been feeling.

"Well no one said it was an easy miracle," Shippo smiled and she rolled her eyes.

"Soten?" Rin's head suddenly popped from behind the curtain. "You think you could come and help for a moment?"

"You're kidding right?"

"No, we could use some muscle to carry some water in and out" she smiled pleadingly at the thunder demon. "And there is no way the guys are gonna do it so get over here" She shut down Soten's rebuttal before she made it and the thunder demon reluctantly obeyed without any further argument.

Soten slid into the opening in the curtain to see a young woman lying on the floor with beads of sweat decorating her body. She had a blanket draped across her and her legs were bent at the knees and spread apart with the old woman huddled near her bottom. Rin held the woman's hand as she pat her head with a damp cloth to cool her down.

"It is almost time," the old woman spoke up and looked at Soten who stood frozen and lost. "Fetch the water child…"

"Right" She grabbed the water bucket and scampered from the room making a beeline past Shippo and Kohaku who sat confused on the floor.

They had laid Miyu comfortable onto a cot to rest, but the commotion behind the curtain was unsettling them more than it probably should have. They felt like they were invading into something intimate, and being the only conscious people in the room besides the women, they thought it best to give them space to work.

After securing a blanket around Miyu, both men inched their way out the door and wandered into the village. They strolled along the shopping area with no real goal in mind aside from getting a break from the lively hut.

"Well that was certainly eventful," Kohaku joked as they moved along the road.

"Tell me about it, and here I was thinking that I would be used to it after Sango's third."

"Yeah, I was never around, so that was all a decent shock for me" Kohaku shook a bit at the memory of the woman's pain. "And Rin jumped in without a second thought, that is definitely one of the things I admire about her."

"I'm sure you admire a lot more," Shippo nudged at his shoulder and Kohaku's face immediately turned bright red.

"Well...I...You know…I…"

""Like her"

"What?" Kohaku's face darkened and he punched Shippo's arm embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, LOVE her then

"Cut it out Shippo" he whined not sure how to get himself out of the fox's teasing.

"There is nothing wrong with it, Rin is a great girl...it's her _daddy_ I would worry about."

Kohaku gulped at the mention of the dog lord and how protective he was of Rin. He couldn't deny that he had affection for her, but the thought of pissing off Sesshomaru had always been enough to make him consider his moves wisely.

"Do you think, if I talked to Sesshomaru…" Kohaku started, but trailed into silence before he finished his words.

"Sesshomaru is not an easy person to _talk_ to" Shippo looked at his friends saddened face and realized that this topic had obviously been weighing on his mind for a while. "He does however have a certain nobility about him. I am sure if you command it, he would have no choice than to respect you."

"You think?" Kohaku seemed to brighten slightly.

"Yeah, but not actually command him...just have a commanding personality. He would probably kill you if you start barking orders at him" Shippo joked as Kohaku chuckled.

"Probably? I am pretty sure death would be a guarantee" he laughed even harder finding it surprisingly easy to make light of the scenario after Shippo's encouraging words. "So what about you Shippo?" he asked looking the fox over.

"What do you mean?"

"What's the deal with you and Soten?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," he grazed over the question like it wasn't asked.

"You know what I mean...you guys have a history right?"

"Umm hmm one with her trying to kill me, remember?"

"But it's not like that bothers you. I know you,and you wouldn't hang around someone you felt anger towards, but you DO seem to like picking on Soten a lot."

"Well if you want to know the truth, I think Soten is...fun"

"What does that even mean Shippo?" Kohaku rolled his eyes at the vague response and only got a toothy grin in return.

He continued to pry until they ended up on the edge of town. They stopped to survey the path and saw nothing but trees for miles. As he stared off the horizon, Shippo could make out a figure hunched on the side of the road near the river. He walked toward them with Kohaku following behind.

A young man, who looked to be a little older than they were, was trying to secure a new wheel onto his broken cart. It was full to the brim with wild vegetables and herbs that he was no doubt trying to get to the village.

"Hey, do you need some help?" Shippo offered without hesitation and the man bowed a greeting.

"Could you please" he chuckled "I seemed to have cracked the wheel and it is much too heavy for me to lift alone. I would go to the village, but the scavengers…" he rambled and Kohaku held up his hands.

"No need, we can help" He braced the side of the cart with Shippo taking the opposite end. They lifted and the man made swift work of swapping the wheels. The men let the cart fall gently and stepped back to check for weak spots.

"Good work" the man beamed patting Shippo and Kohaku approvingly on the back. "She looks good as new -" he slapped the wagon pushing it forward just enough to roll down the small incline and topple into the water. Shippo and Kohaku slapped a palm to their head as they watched the embarrassing display unfold. The man stood dumbfounded as a large chunk of his supplies floated away downstream until they were out of view.

Further up the river fruits and spices bobbed through the current just as Soten was filling another bucket near the medical hut. She furrowed her brow confused and looked around to see no one in sight. She was sure there had to be a story behind random supplies in the water, but last she left the hut Mako was about to deliver.

She trotted back sloshing the contents of the bucket with every step, but being careful not to spill it. She stepped over the resting patients, including Miyu who was sleeping soundly despite the future mother's yelling.

"Push, dear girl you are almost done" the old healer coached as Rin directed Soten to bring the water closer.

"AHHHH!"

"Here Soten," Rin directed her to sit next to Mako and placed the exhausted mother's hand around Soten's fingers.

"What am I supposed to do?" Soten looked shocked as Rin moved to the healers side leaving her to hold the woman's hand.

"Just comfort her, she needs it."

"ComFORT," Soten started to complain but the woman squeezed her fingers hard enough to make her knuckles crack under the pressure. She never imagined a human could grip so strongly until Mako's contraction was in full swing and she felt the blood failing to circulate past her palm.

"Great one more," Rin bubbled as Mako clinched once more.

A squeal pierced the air and she relaxed giving Soten back control over her hand as Rin and the old woman used the water from the bucket to lightly pat the baby clean. Rin wrapped it snuggly in a blanket before raising it to Mako placing it across her chest.

"It's a girl," she smiled and Mako started to tear up.

"You did good," the healer praised as she took in the sight of the new mother with her infant.

"Thank you all so much," Mako spoke actual words for the first time since they walked into the room.

"Yeah well seems like a whole lot of work to get a tiny wrinkly human," Soten inspected the baby in her mother's arm touching her skin softly as she curled into her swaddle.

"I think it's wonderful," Rin cooed.

"Yes, I just…" Mako saddened and the healer pat her leg reassuringly.

"He will come back soon child," she smiled and Mako nodded.

"Who are we talking about now?" Soten chimed in confused.

"My husband," Mako started. "He was away on business and he was supposed to return before the birth but…I just wish..."

"Wish granted," Shippo popped into the room with a smile from ear to ear.

"Shippo!?" the girls spoke in unison.

"What are you - " Soten began to ask but was cut off.

"MAKO!" A man bolted from behind Shippo and ran to Mako's side.

"HONEY!" she sobbed as the man fell to his knees to kiss his wife and stroke his newborn's head.

"We found this guy on the side of the road, and when we mentioned a woman giving birth he just knew it had to be his wife" Kohaku entered and stood in the doorway.

"That's nice, but who told you it was okay to just barge in here you perv fox" Soten scolded swatting Shippo's head for coming in unannounced.

"Well when we didn't hear yelling we assumed that either someone died or a baby must have been born."

"And we are happy it was the latter" Kohaku smiled at the couple until Shippo tapped his shoulder. "That's right, we should probably try to find the supplies you lost."

"You lost the supplies?" Mako looked on shocked at her husband who rubbed his neck embarrassed.

"A few of them might have traveled up the river...accidentally."

"Oh, so you're the reason there were vegetables and stuff in the river" Soten laughed as the man reddened.

"The whole village needs those supplies," Mako shook her head seemingly familiar with her husband's clumsiness.

"Well then we shouldn't waste time," Rin stood and looked to the healer. "Will you please keep an eye on our friend?"

"Of course."

"Come on guys" she chirped as she headed for the door, followed by her friends who were struggling to stay as enthusiastic as she was.

The group spread out along the river's edge and fished as many of the loose materials from the water as they could. Mako's husband lined the items neatly on the grass and took count of what they'd recovered. Just as he finished bundling a bag of beets Rin walked up with an arm full of herbs.

They were a blue-green tint with bushy leaves, and even after all her studying under Kaede and Kagome she had no idea what the herb was used for. She studied one between her fingers and proceeded to smell it, but nothing seemed familiar about the plant at all.

"That's the love drug," Mako's husband smiled at her as she continued to fiddle with the herb.

"Love drug?" Rin looked puzzled clearly skeptical of the comment.

"Yep, they say if you eat a leaf of that plant it will take you to your true love. That is how I met Mako."

"Really?" Rin couldn't help but giggle, finding the entire idea completely unbelievable.

"No, I am not kidding. It really works" The man pouted slightly. "If you don't believe me try it. You are a pretty girl, I am sure you have someone that you would want by your side."

"Well yes I suppose" She spoke through her smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I guess I am just not one hundred percent convinced."

"Then try it," The man lifted one of the plants and presented it to Rin. "You won't regret it."

Rin sighed and plucked a leaf from the stalk. She placed it gently onto her tongue and chewed slowly, filling her mouth with a bitter sour sensation that was strong enough to distort her face. The man grinned and pat her head, gathering the remainder of the herb and placing it with the other supplies he had piled.

The nasty taste of the leaf lingered in Rin's mouth and she rubbed her tongue against her teeth to try to stop the assault on her taste buds. She moved further down the river to grab as many stray objects she could see and when the taste didn't subside she kneeled near the water's edge to drink in hopes that it would rinse her mouth.

Filling her stomach with as much liquid as it could hold, she finally felt able to swallow without the lingering remnants of the leaves. She smiled relieved and stood only to wobble and stumble forward. Her body suddenly started to burn. It felt like her skin was on fire and for a moment she couldn't see straight.

She looked around to call out to someone, but she had wandered further down river than she intended. She tried to stand again, but the ground felt like it was spinning. Collapsing back onto her butt, could feel her heart beating in her ears It was hard to breath, and it was beginning to look like she would lose consciousness. She stared down at her shadow slowly stretching in the setting sun as her vision clouded again and everything went dark.

Kohaku looked to the sky and noticed it's reddish hue fading as night started to cover it with a blanket of darkness. They had managed to haul most of the missing supplies back to the village without a problem and Mako's husband was overjoyed. He was all teeth as they approached the medical hut to return to his wife and newborn with the news of their success.

Kohaku chuckled as he exaggerated the story to her. Expanding the few loose materials to being thousands. He paused as Shippo and Soten entered with a few more apples bundled in their hands.

"This will be payment," Soten grinned as she took a huge bite and smacked her lips from the juiciness.

"That seems fair enough," The man returned her smile as Shippo passed a fruit on to each person in the room.

He sat one aside for Miyu when she awoke and extended one to Kohaku who paid him no attention as he stared out the door.

"Um...Shippo?" concern started to decorate his face as he spoke. "you guys weren't with Rin?"

"No we thought she came back earlier. She's not helping old lady healer in the back?"

"No, the lady healer has gone on a house call," Mako spoke up as she rested on a cushion craddling her baby. "When you all left, everything quieted down, so she stepped out."

"Well who was-" Soten didn't get to finish asking her question before Kohaku sprang to his feet and flew out the door. "Wait Kohaku, don't you need some help?" He didn't respond. Moving full speed into the darkness, she wasn't even sure if he heard her.

"Come on," Shippo tapped her shoulder and they followed stepping outside to find him nowhere in sight.

"Where'd he go?"

"If he is thinking straight, probably to the river. That is the last place we all remember seeing her."

"Makes sense" Soten secured Raigekijin and stepped forward. "Let's go."

Some ways ahead of them Kohaku paced around the river bed moving further and further from the hut. He didn't understand how he could have not noticed the she was missing. He always had his eyes on her, he had to. He wouldn't forgive himself if anything happened to her, and that feeling of self dread was already starting to loom over his head.

He moved as best he could with the night sky slowly darkening his path, but the familiar sight of a small sandal in the water caught his attention in the dwindling sunlight. He lifted it up and shock it dry, knowing it was Rin's and his heart pace quickened. He looked up and saw the faint pink of kimono fabric hiding under a bush.

Feeling his breath catch in his throat he moved before his brain could catch up. Rin was huddled near the bush with her kimono pulled halfway from her shoulder. Her hair had fallen in front of her face and she lied motionless with her head resting on the grass. Kohaku fell to his knees beside her and swaddled her into his arms, shifting her so she sat comfortably into the bend of his body.

"Rin!" he tried to yell, but his voice cracked in fear afraid that she wouldn't respond.

Her eyes squinted tight then peered open slowly as she looked up at the panicked freckled face that held her.

"Ko...ha..ku" she managed to squeak his name and he exhaled for the first time since he saw her.

"Rin, what happened? Are you okay?" he adjusted her kimono back to her body as best he could, but he was more concerned with her well being than her clothes.

"There was an herb...then my body got so hot…" she pulled her sleeve back down and sighed as the cool air brushed her skin. "Everything got dizzy, then I think I just...rested for a while…" She explained but couldn't fully speak with Kohaku squeezing her to his chest.

"We should get you back-"

"NO!" Rin's protest shocked him and he loosened his grip so he could look at her eyes. "I just want to stay here…" she buried her face into his neck and he could feel the tingle of her breath on his skin. "...Please…"

He didn't say anything, only held her tighter and rested a hand in her hair. She reveled in his warmth despite feeling so hot earlier, it felt good to be huddled up to him. She pressed her body closer nestling into his arms.

As the minutes passed, Kohaku let his senses be overtaken with every memory of the moment. He couldn't remember the last time he was this close to Rin. Since they had grown over the years, he noticed more and more things he loved about her, and that kept her forever on his mind. Now was definitely no exception. The shape of her body fit perfectly to his frame, allowing him to feel every curve of her. The faint scent of flowers that always followed her in and out of a room, filled his nose as he rested his chin on her head. The mix of emotion started to send his mind into a frenzy, when he felt her hand grip his shirt.

"I...guess...it really does work…" she whispered, but he could hear her clearly with her mouth so close to his ear. "It really does...bring you the one you love…"

Kohaku felt his face burn and he gently pulled Rin away, looking her in the eyes. She struggled to keep them open as she smiled softly at him. He focused on her, never once losing his intensity.

"Rin…" he leaned close to her and paused grazing her nose with his own, but hesitating to close the distance between them.

Rin giggled slightly and finished the movement for him, placing a hand on his face as she pressed her lips to his. The soft and gentle friction left both of them wanting more.

Where it seemed logical to break away, they chose to close in deeper. Abandoning the simple lip lock for a sharing of tongues, tangling their mouths together and leaving the flavor of the other painted on their taste buds. They had shared a few fleeting kisses together in the past, but this was far more intense than Kohaku had experienced. He felt the heat rising in his own body, as they broke and re-sealed their lips igniting more passion with every touch.

Kohaku's hand slowly travel from supporting her back to gliding up her disheveled kimono. His palm rested firmly on her breast, pushing aside more fabric to reveal the plump mound caressed in his fingers. He massaged the flesh earning a pleasant moan from Rin who wiggled to a better position to give him more freedom. He shifted her from his lap so he could place her softly to the lush grass.

Finally breaking away to breath, he looked down at her longingly as she smiled at him. Her chest moved in unison with his own, panting under the weight of desire. He had never felt a pull so strong in his life, and he wanted to feel more.

Leaning in close, he nestled to her neck, kissing the delicate skin before moving to her cheek and resting by her ear.

"Please Rin, tell me again," He whispered huskily causing her to stir from the ticking in her ear drums. "Tell me that you love me…"

"Ko...haku," her voice trickled off to nothing as Kohaku pushed himself upward to rest on his hands and look down at her. Her eyes closed slowly, as the rise and fall of her chest slowed and her body went limp.

"Rin?" Kohaku felt her face and realized she had passed out. His mind was so lost in a euphoric high he had forgotten that she was possibly poisoned by whatever herb she might have ingested.

The troubling thought quickly brought him back to reality and the panic that had so easily drifted away while she was in his arms returned with full force. He pulled himself together and fixed her kimono back to her body, shunning himself for being so careless. He let himself get carried away and he regretted it. Rin wasn't even in her right state of mind and he still got sucked into his emotions. He was happy she was safe, he just hoped that she didn't resent him for being so inappropriate toward her.

By the time he made it back to the hut, the night had completely taken over the sky. He eased Rin through the door and met the smiling faces of his friends, who didn't seem too worried about them missing.

"Welcome back stranger," Shippo greeted with a smile as Kohaku placed Rin on an empty mat to rest.

"Rin...she-"

"She is fine," the old healer emerged from the back room and moved over to her and positioned a cushion under her head.

"Yeah we all heard the story of the herbs. Apparently it was just a minor sedative that the old lady here uses for pain relief" Soten interjected. "That idiot over there gave it to her mistaking it for some kind of kids trick. It's a good thing grandma came back when she did or we might have been freaking out by now."

"Trick…" Kohaku looked confused.

"There is a sweet herb that we give children and tell them that it is a love potion. It's a harmless little game, but my husband mixed the plants up by mistake," Mako pulled his ear repremending him. "I am so sorry for the trouble."

"Yes I apologize for the mistake," he bowed to Kohaku who didn't try to hide the relief on his face.

"I do suppose the mixup worked well for some though," Shippo nudged his shoulder. "I mean how often do you get to touch and cuddle a pretty girl when she's asleep."

"SHE WASN'T ASLEEP!" Kohaku blurted out without thinking and Shippo raised an eyebrow shocked.

"So she was awake when you touched her?" he teased forcing the red on Kohaku"s cheeks to spread.

"She...she...was...I mean" he stumbled over his words. "Uh, Shippo cut it out!" he sat down defeated as the fox exploded in laughter.

"You know, I didn't hear him deny it" Soten joined the teasing, high fiving Shippo for the good collaboration.

"Well in all respects we did see you hugging, down by the river," Shippo poked Kohaku's face as he pouted. "We just thought it best to let you handle things from there alone…" he wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner only making Kohaku frown more.

"Come on Kohaku, we are just teasing," Soten attempted to brighten his mood as she stretched. "Rin is okay, that is all that is important, right?"

"I suppose," He reluctantly agreed still holding the pressure of the night's events at the base of his thoughts.

He looked at Rin who rested silently next to Miyu. Everything he felt for her was real and he knew it, but he couldn't allow himself to lose control. Rin was more important to him than anything, and making her resent him because he couldn't control his own emotions was not something he planned to do.

He wasn't sure if what she said was her true thoughts or the herb speaking for her, but he was certain of one thing. Before this trip was over he was going to find out.

* * *

 **Now I remember what I was supposed to say before the chapter started. Remember to comment, review and critique if you'd like...how did I forget that.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading see you in the next chapter!**

 **-ErynBenae**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Shady Shape Shifter

**I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today...**

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 **Revision Notes: If you haven't noticed nothing has changed much with these chapters.**

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Soten sat annoyed grinding her teeth as she struggled to keep herself from had taken another day for both Rin and Miyu to start feeling like themselves again, but that didn't stop their ailments from slowing the entire mission to a near halt.

Kohaku had refused to leave Rin's side and Miyu was just being a big baby to get attention from Shippo. It was all starting to make Soten's blood boil. They had left the village at first daylight and here it was midday, and they had barely made any progress.

Seeing the frustration painted clearly on her face, Shippo eased his way over to her. Tapping her arm lightly to get her attention she growled not bothering to turn his direction.

"Come on Soten lighten up" he pleaded. "They have been through alot these last few days, cut them a break". His request was met with a deepened scowl and he sighed. " You know not everyone can be a strong as you," patting her shoulder, he left her to think about his statement and she huffed.

She had to keep reminding herself that she was dealing with humans,something she was definitely not used too.

"Whatever" she whispered under her breath as Shippo gathered their comrades and prepared to continue up the path.

They eventually made their way through the thicket of trees lining the old healer's tiny village and found themselves back on the main road. Marching along at a relatively steady pace Soten could feel her mood beginning to lighten. Making some progress was better than none at all.

Not to mention, when Shippo and Kohaku volunteered to piggyback the girls, their speed doubled. Even with the added weight the boys were managing to keep up with Soten, who lead the way. It actually looked like they would cover a fair distance before they lost the daylight.

For the first time in awhile Soten felt able to refocus her mind. She had a mission and she couldn't let little setbacks make her forget her purpose. She was going to prove that she could handle any challenge and conquer, and that meant speeding up travel to arrive at the promised time.

Soten was so lost in thought she hadn't realized that her group was once again starting to lag behind. Shippo had let Miyu fall from his back and she sat cross legged on the ground as he jogged to catch up to her.

"Soten!" he called out making her snap from her daze and back to reality. "We were calling you, we kinda have an emergency."

She grumbled as Shippo signaled her to follow. They made their way back and Soten crossed her arms waiting for an explanation.

"So what's the issue?" She looked for immediate danger and could see no problems. Eventually she felt a tug at her pants leg. Looking down she saw Miyu bowing her head shyly.

"Um, could you maybe go with me to the bathroom?" the question flowed so meekly from Miyu's lips, that Soten was certain she was being tricked.

"You're kidding right?" Soten had trouble putting an emotion on her face to reflect how stupid this question sounded to her.

"I don't want to go alone…" Miyu's voice was still almost a whisper, but it was more than loud enough for Soten to openly chuckle.

"You don't look like a baby to me, why do you need me to take you to the bathroom?" she sneered and Shippo slapped a palm to his face shaking his head at the stubborn thunder demon.

"She is still shaken up from before. I think she is scared" he touched Soten's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "Remember what I said earlier?"

He was obviously referring to her cutting Miyu some slack. She sucked her teeth, knowing that Miyu was probably genuinely freaked out if she was asking HER for help with no arguments.

"Fine, let's make it quick" Soten surprised herself by caving in so easily. She helped Miyu to her feet and walked with her as she danced her way into the bushes to relieve herself.

Miyu made sure she could keep the demon partially in her sights as she used the foliage for cover. She held her arm and grunted, still feeling the sting from the poison flair on her skin as she shifted her weight.

She had never encountered a deadly demon like the centipede, and she understood now why her father wanted to hire special guard. The reality of how strong demons could be was starting to sink in. According to the others, the demon that attacked them was actually rather weak. Had she not been in immediate danger, they would have probably had no trouble exterminating it. She couldn't begin to imagine what else might be waiting to devour a human like herself and yet here she was, per her father's wishes, rushing off to marry one of the beasts that she feared.

Though she was definitely afraid, a part of her had hope that things would be okay. Shippo and Soten were both demons and they weren't very scary. Aside from Soten's mouth, they both seemed to be normal, she just hoped that whoever she met at this marriage meeting would be the same.

Shaking off her bad thoughts, Miyu finished as quickly as she could. She stood and fixed her clothing, before stepping forward to find that her escort was nowhere in sight. Her eyes widened in shock at the realization that Soten would leave her alone. She was just thinking of how the stubborn girl could be tolerable and then she abandoned her in the woods. Even with her constant bad attitude, Soten seemed like someone who would at least keep her word.

Making a timid move forward Miyu froze when she heard a crunch in the bushes. She spun around hoping that the missing thunder demon was emerging from the trees, but there was nothing. The wind blew slightly and a chill ran up her spin. It was too quiet. There were no birds or insects to be heard, only the looming feeling of dead air and crunching leaves under feet that she couldn't see.

She was tempted to call out, but the possibility of attracting unwanted attention kept her lips sealed. Heading cautiously toward the direction she remembered to be the road, she found herself wandering longer than she should. They hadn't traveled that far from the group, but she saw nothing that looked familiar.

Approaching a clearing in the trees, a small whimper managed to slip past the thumping sound of her heart beating in her ears. It sounded like a woman, a crying woman. She inched closer and ducked behind a tree, peering out for a moment to see the fragile frame huddled in the corner. After watching for a few seconds, Miyu couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The woman looked completely harmless.

"Um...excuse me…" Miyu began drawing the woman's attention so she could meet the bloodshot eyes that gazed back at her from a soft tear stained face.

"NO STAY BACK!" she shrieked as she grabbed a stick and waved it Miyu's direction. "I WON'T FALL FOR YOUR TRICK AGAIN DEMON!"

"Demon?" Miyu waved her hand in defense "I am no demon…" She began to plead her case as the woman sprang to her feet running at her full speed. Her makeshift tree branch weapon didn't look like much, but with the force she was charging at, Miyu knew that every hit would hurt. She shielded her head and flinched, bracing herself for an impact the never came.

Instead she heard a hard smack and a snapping sound. Moving her arms from her line of sight, Miyu saw Soten standing in front of her with the broken stick shattered to pieces beneath her feet and her hand recovering from the open palm slap she just delivered to the woman who tumbled to the ground.

"Soten…" Miyu was cut off by an angry snarl from the older demon.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" she bellowed turning her attention to Miyu. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM NOT WANDER OFF BY YOURSELF TO FIGHT SOME CHICK IN THE FOREST!"

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO LEFT ME!" Miyu shot back, not intimidated at all by Soten's scolding.

"I DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE. I WAS STILL STANDING IN THE SAME SPOT!"

"NO YOU WEREN'T!" Miyu stomped frustrated by Soten's denial. "I looked up and you were gone" her voice trailed carrying the disappointment she felt as it left her lips.

"I swear," Soten put her hands up, "I didn't move from that spot until you took too long and I turned around to see you were gone."

"That's what he does…" the strange woman sat on the ground rubbing the red mark that Soten left across her face.

"Who is 'he'?" Miyu questioned as she remembered that the woman was there.

"The demon of these woods," as if her statement couldn't have been more vague and mysterious the woman bowed her head low so her hair blocked her eyes. "He's a trickster. He uses his magic to fool you and then he keeps you trapped here." More tears began to fall to the ground as she spoke. "He fooled all of my traveling companions and killed them all. He has been toying with me ever since. Appearing as one of them, just to taunt me. I was so sick of it I snapped and I attacked you girl...I'm sorry."

"No, no, you must have been through a lot. I can't imagine" Miyu rushed to the woman's side helping her to her feet. "We'll help you get out of here."

"We will?" Soten raised an eyebrow confused.

"OF COURSE WE WILL! It's the least you could do after you HIT her" Miyu shot back folding her arms to show how serious she was.

"I didn't hear any complaining when it saved your butt…" Soten grumbled, but ultimately didn't argue about letting the woman tag along. If there was a demon she couldn't just leave her there.

The girls began to head back for the road, everything suddenly seeming familiar to Miyu. She had just walked from the direction they were headed, but everything looked different. now it looked exactly like she remembered when they first arrived.

The puzzled look on her face didn't get pass the strange woman and she touched Miyu's arm gently.

"It was all a trick" she gestured to the forest. "The demon can make theses woods appear however he likes, though I think your servant is so strong his powers are weakened…"

Soten stopped dead in her tracks making Miyu and the woman run into her back. Having been listening to the conversation, the "servant" comment hadn't missed her and she most certainly could not let that slide.

"Who is a servant now?" she spun around and snarled, gripping Raigekijin ready to split the woman in two if she didn't answer correctly.

"Excuse me, it's just...you were so quick to do what Lady Miyu said when she demanded that I come along, I thought maybe you were in her servitude." The woman bowed an apology, but Miyu could see that Soten wasn't satisfied.

"She isn't really a servant as much as she is a bodyguard," she stepped between the two women preparing to sooth the situation. "She protects me and she will make sure that we get out of here unharmed."

"Yes of course. Sorry again…" she paused realizing that she didn't know their names.

"Soten" the demon spoke through her teeth deciding to forgive and forget this time for the woman's mistake.

"And I'm Miyu" she added with a smile as the woman smiled back.

"I am Yuri" she nodded a greeting and Soten huffed continuing onward before she had a chance to say something stupid.

It was quiet for a while as they neared the road. It was probably better that way, there was an odd tension among them, that had already been established and talking would probably only make it worse. They stepped back into the clearing to find a small campfire and lunch roasting slowly nearby. Kohaku helped Rin tend to the food and Shippo laid stretched out on his back covering his eyes from the sunlight.

"There you guys are, any longer and we would have started to worry" Kohaku smiled a greeting as they approached, waving them over to join the fire.

"Who's your friend?" Shippo asked peeking an eye open but never fully getting up to greet them.

"Long story," Soten rolled her eyes. "But the short version is that there is some trickster demon lurking around, her friends are dead and Miyu volunteered us to help her."

"Trickster demon" Kohaku scratched his head. "I don't recall this being a demon territory."

"Neither do I, which is why I was traveling through here." The woman stepped forward and bowed. "I am Yuri. I had been traveling with my brother who does research on demons. We have travelled through this area many times and we thought it to be safe. But then-" Yuri's voice trailed into tears and Miyu rubbed her back to sooth her.

"No worries miss," Shippo finally stood nodding her direction. "No trickster is better than me. We will make sure that your brother's death doesn't go unpunished." He gave her a toothy smile and she returned it with a relieved sigh.

The ladies joined the others, confident that the road was safe after they failed to see any strange activity. Everyone helped themselves to some lunch and Soten took a moment to clean up Raigekijin. She sharpened the blade to a fine point before using a cloth to wipe down the hilt and shine the metal. She maneuvered with the fabric until she could see her reflection. The mirror like surface showed her own red eyes looking back at her and a pair of brown ones staring down her back.

Yuri was watching with intrigue as the weapon gained a new life in the hands of its attentive master. Soten cut her a glare and she jumped afraid that she might still be facing judgement for her earlier remark about Soten being a servant.

"I'm sorry for staring longer than I should, I just never imagined that I would get a glimpse of such a powerful demon weapon" Yuri defended herself as she ran a finger across the flat side of the Raigekijin.

Soten pulled away snarling, cradling her treasured heirloom in in her arms. Yuri flinched again retracting her hand and tucking it under her butt to reassure the thunder demon that she would refrain from touching her belongings. Soten kept her glare strong until Shippo and Miyu approached, interrupting the awkward silence that had befallen.

"What's with the mean look Soten, are you being rude again?" Miyu teased, seeing the scowl plastered on her face.

"What's with that stupid face Miyu...oh, you look like that everyday don't you?" Soten shot back earning herself a karate chop to the head from Shippo.

"Be nice to Miyu" he scolded waving a reprimanding finger her direction.

"Try that again and I will break that arm of yours from your body."

"Yeah, yeah" Shippo waved off her threat and folded his arms across his chest. "Look I think it is best if we rest here for the day."

"NO WAY!" Soten refused shaking her head. "We just started moving again and you already want to stop for camp."

"I think we need to deal with this trickster demon before we can move on from this area. If it stays alive it will only cause more problems" Shippo's reasoning was not lost on her. Soten had thought the same thing when Yuri explained her story, she just hoped that she would be able to convince the others that helping the woman escape was enough.

"Don't you remember that we have a mission to take care of?" Soten protested, but didn't sound very serious on leaving.

"Really you're complaining about a fight?" Miyu butted in before Shippo could respond. "I would think you of all people would love a good battle" she sneered earning an irritated eye twitch from Soten.

"While I don't deny that I would probably kick this trickster guy's ass, we are already behind."

"I never thought you to be so punctual" Shippo chimed in leaning his back against a tree and picking at his claws.

"Actually we are still making good time" Kohaku approached ruining Soten's defense. "We could easily make up for a short pause, actually we left much earlier than we needed, to account for possible delays...Miyu's father didn't want us to rush and get reckless."

"So that settles it, we take out the demon" Shippo shrugged trudging away to the campfire to prepare for an impending fight.

Soten shook as she tried to hold back her temper. She was more than agitated and getting this over with sooner rather than later seemed to be the best option.

Not seeing the point in arguing, when the remainder of her group had decided to fight, she sat and pouted not feeling the desire to rejoin her comrades as they discussed, what she could only assume to be, a strategy to face this shape shifter. She couldn't imagine it being much of a threat. If she could walk through its barrier unphased, then it shouldn't be much of a problem for her to take care of.

As she stared into the trees she spotted the unmistakable silhouette of a person looming behind the branches. She shifted and sat at attention, straightening her spine and straining to see if she could make out who it was. She looked back at the others and debated if she should risk getting them all wound up over a shadow. Looking back toward the figure she only caught a glimpse of it running off through the trees.

Soten made her decision without a second thought, taking off silently in the same direction. She could handle this without help, the others would only slow her down. Dodging branches as she ran, she eventually made it to an empty clearing. Pausing to survey the area it looked like the creature might have vanished, but knowing that she was dealing with a shape shifter made Soten think twice about her surroundings.

From the corner of her eye she caught the distorted shimmer of a barrier. It made the air wavey like heat rising from the ground. The demon was close, but she knew it would be foolish to run directly into its lair.

She contemplated her next move carefully, as the sound of snapping twigs alerted her to someone approaching from the rear. She feigned ignorance continuing to look straight ahead until the mystery person was just within her reach.

Spinning on her heel she gripped her thunder pike between her fingers and swung a defensive strike. To her shock the assailant thwarted her weapon, pushing it aside as it spun from her hand and landed blade first into the ground. She growled and grit her teeth letting the red of her eyes gleam from her bubbling anger. Balling her fist she prepared to fight by hand, but meeting the gaze of her attacker stopped her in her tracks. Her mouth fell open slightly and she fought with her brain to force words out.

"H-Hiten" she stuttered as her brother's smug smile looked back at her. Every part of Soten's mind told her for certain that there was no way that her brother could be standing in front of her, but the feeling of seeing him again after so many years trapped her in a state of shock.

"That's my name don't wear it out" he folded his arms clicking his teeth and shaking his head disapprovingly at his younger sibling. "Look at you swinging around my thunder pike like you actually know what you're doing," he scolded pointing to the weapon protruding from the dirt.

"You're not real," Soten almost whispered still trying to convince herself that this was not happening. It had to be the trickster demon, she knew this, but it looked JUST like him. He had been dead for so many years, it seemed impossible for this demon to even know what Hiten looked like, let alone be able to imitate everything about him from his looks to his voice.

"Oh, I am very real little sister," he touched her head, and Soten felt like she was child again, when Hiten would ruffle her hair before he and Manten left for their regular excursions of debauchery.

She should have pulled away, yet a part of her liked the idea of her brother's possible return. As she aged and tried more and more to be like them, she discovered that she is very different from them in a lot of ways, but Hiten and Manten were her brothers and she couldn't say she didn't miss them.

"Soten…" a small voice called from behind them and Miyu peered from the foliage with Yuri huddled beside her. She shook, afraid to come forward with the vision of Hiten standing before her.

He turned their direction and his smile turned wicked, his aura shifting drastically as he looked the women over.

"Well look at this here. Such pretty little things and so easy to kill" he cracked his knuckles and stepped toward her. "I haven't had fun in a very long time, so you should be good practice".

Miyu shuddered under his gaze and pressed her back as hard as she could against the trunk of the nearest tree, trying desperately to disappear into its bark. Hiten seemed ecstatic at her fear, closing the distance between them and raising a hand to attack. Just as his strike should have landed a bright blue flash of lightning sparked from the ground in front of him. He looked back annoyed to see Soten, who re-claimed Raigekijin, pointing it directly at him.

"Hahaha" he laughed redirecting his attention on his sister. "You're gonna turn MY weapon against me?" He questioned raising an eyebrow confused. "For what?...this HUMAN?"

Soten didn't respond, she only grounded herself for another attack.

"You're a Thunder Demon...or have you forgotten that. A human is't worth your time. I can prove it to you, when you see how easy it is for me to kill her." He prepared to carry out his assault on the cowering human only to be thwarted by another lightning bolt.

The frustration was clear on his face as he turned to stare down his sister. Eyes full of rage he bared his teeth and growled.

"FINE!" he exclaimed stepping away from Miyu. "Maybe I should teach YOU a lesson first" he lunged with his last statement charging at Soten as she thrust her blade his direction.

He seemed to disappear in thin air, forming behind her in an instant. He didn't have a weapon but he landed a fully charged kick directly into the Soten's side. As the blow landed she could hear the plate of her armor crack before she was sent across the clearing and into dense woods, slamming into a tree hard enough to split it and send it falling to the ground with her. Her blade had slipped from her grasp, landing in the grass where she fell after Hiten's attack.

"Soten!" Miyu yelled as she regained her voice and tried to run to her side. Before she could move Yuri grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"You can't you'll get hurt" she pleaded holding her from moving any closer to the two sparring demons

"WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER!" Miyu pulled away doing the one thing she could think of, which was getting Soten back her weapon.

As she reached for the hilt of Raigekinjin, it sprang from the dirt levitating and spinning into Hiten's hands where he twirled it with expertise before aiming at Miyu.

"You really didn't think I would let you get my blade did you?" He admired Raigekijin's feel in his grip and chuckled to himself. "It's been a long time since I handled this baby, but once I use it to cut my idiot sister down a few sizes, I'll make sure to crush your skull underneath my boot for thinking you could touch it. A demon blade like this is way too good to be used to slay a pathetic girl like you…"

Before he finished his speech, another bolt of lightning flew at him. He managed to move from its path just before it struck, leaping back and stumbling to a shaky landing a few steps away.

Growling he glared at Soten who stood ready to fight despite being bruised from her crash landing into to trees.

"MIYU GET OUT OF HERE!" she commanded the younger girl as she removed her shattered armor plate and tossed it aside.

"NO, I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!" Miyu protested planting her feet into the ground to emphasize how she didn't plan to leave from her spot.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR HEROICS!" Soten snapped shooting Miyu a stern look.

"SAYS THE GIRL TRYING TO BE THE HERO ALL BY HERSELF!" Miyu didn't back down, shouting right back at Soten's command.

"You might want to listen to her little girl," Hiten chuckled. "You may just extend your life...well at least until I hunt you down and kill you too."

"Why Hiten, you seem so focused on a human girl. Didn't you always tell me to watch my opponent" Soten lept into action taking the opportunity to land a blow to Hiten's face before he dodged. She was hoping to separate the imposter from her weapon, but her attack failed and only appeared to make him angrier.

"YOU WENCH!" he shrieked wiping the thin line of blood that trickled from his split lip. "That will be the LAST time you get away with hitting me."

Twirling Raigekijin sloppily around his hand, he hurled it at Soten with enough speed to put a deep gash into her side before it circled around and levitated back into his grip. Soten felt the wound tear open when the blade glided past her. Blood oozed between her fingers as she attempted to soothe the stinging sensation.

"Soten!" Miyu ran to her side, catching Hiten off guard by how easy it was for her to get past him.

Wobbling to her feet with Miyu's help she laughed to herself, earning a curious look from her opponent.

"That's it I am so sick of this…" she sighed regaining enough balance to stand without Miyu's help. "Why don't we cut the crap already and get to the point?"

"I thought that's what we were doing, or am I not killing you fast enough?"

"Ha…oh please" she waved off his gloating and took a small step closer. "We can start by getting rid of that illusion in the corner over there." She pointed to Yuri who remained silent through most of the encounter. "She IS just an illusion right? and while you're at it, we can cut to the chase, because what you are really here for is Miyu right?"

The Hiten doppelganger paused and smiled at her deduction.

"Very clever," he acknowledged her assumption giving a sly smirk as the illusion of Yuri collapsed into dust that blew off in the wind.

"It wasn't very hard to figure out." Soten started, smiling to herself at how well she had connected the dots" Miyu was the only one who you tricked when we were in the forest earlier. You drew her away, but when you noticed I was looking for her, you had to come up with an excuse, so you told us about the trickster to cover your tracks. The figure that I saw running from the camp earlier was you too. You were retreating back to the woods after you had to follow us to make us believe your story. What I wasn't expecting was you taking the form of my brother."

"Really?" the imposter seemed surprised raising an eyebrow. "I didn't expect you to be so intuitive. I predicted that all this would go right over that thick head of yours, but since you seem to have some ability of cognitive thought maybe you'd be willing to make a deal."

"Oh? So now you're not interested in killing me anymore?"

"You did hit me and you deserve to be punished for that, but you have proven to be funner to play with than I anticipated." The demon teased as it extended its arm with Raigekijin in it's grip. "I will return your weapon and you can go free. All you have to do is give me the girl."

Miyu shrank behind Soten as the demon's eyes moved to stare her down.

"What makes you think I would take that deal?"

"Look at who I am, and think about how you felt when you saw me. You've let this human make you so weak. Your brother would be SO ashamed-"

"SHUT UP!" Soten screamed cutting off the demon before it could finish. "You don't know anything about ME or my brother."

She hated to admit it and she hated herself for thinking it, but in part he was right. A very strong part of her, wanted to see her brothers again, even though she knew the trouble that they caused, and what they did to Shippo. Deep down she knew she wanted their approval, but hearing it outloud only made her realize how terrible of a person she really must be. How could she journey along with Shippo like everything was okay when she knew his past, when she knew what her family had done.

This demon couldn't know though...there was no way that it could know.

"Oh, but I know more than you think. How else would I be able to flawlessly take this form? I knew your brother" the words made Soten stop and think.

She weighed the possibilities and she honestly couldn't tell if it was true or not. She didn't know every person that her brother might have encountered. And if this demon was telling the truth then maybe this would be how Hiten would have reacted if he found her with a human. She didn't want it to, but it bothered her to think that she could be that big of a disappointment.

"He always imagined you would be weak, but you could prove him wrong. The girl truly means nothing right? When she is gone you can just return to your life, no sweat off your back." The demon continued to pry and Miyu could see the toll it was taking on Soten.

Soten gripped her shoulder and shook, making Miyu tense under the idea that she could actually be considering the demon's offer. Soten wouldn't really let this trickster mess with her would she? As the thoughts swirled in her mind she felt Soten relax, loosening her hold and taking a breath. Miyu let a sigh of relief fall from her lips before putting on a brave face and turned to look at Soten.

"Soten" she whispered as her comrade looked her in the eyes.

When their gazes locked she used as much body language as she could to speak to the thunder demon without actually saying a word. Soten grinned chuckling before she pat Miyu's head reassuringly. Miyu was sure she understood, there was no mistake that Soten knew the right move to make. The girl relaxed just enough for Soten to push her forward. She fell over stumbling down right at the demon's feet.

"Fine" Soten sounded defeated, not looking at the Miyu who scrambled to sit upright in complete shock as Hiten reached for her.

"Ah!" she squealed as he grabbed her by the kimono and hauled her into the air.

"I'm glad you see it my way" The demon smiled evilly as he gripped his human prize and tossed the thunder pike back to Soten.

He hadn't noticed when she had her head down, but when she looked up to catch the weapon, the smile on her face was clear.

"Yeah too bad you don't see it MY way" she responded, wiping her own blood from the blade.

"What? Are you going to try to attack me now that you have that weapon back. I hope you know I planned for that and am fully prepared to snap her neck if you try."

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed? and you call yourself a master trickster."

The demon looked on confused before he felt Miyu's hand grip his wrist.

"That's impossible" Miyu spoke up as she clenched tighter. "How can you be a master when no one is better than me."

"Wha-" he didn't get a chance to finish before Miyu planted a kick across his face that sent him stumbling back. She landed smoothly on her feet as the demon fell in a puff of smoke engulfed him revealing its true form as it cleared.

A woman, one very similar in looks to the illusion of Yuri sat rubbing her cheek and grumbling in anger. Her features were pretty much the same aside from her now piercing crystal blue eyes and obvious demonic face markings.

"Damn" she cursed having lost her upper hand. "How?"

"Well I'm the best of course" Miyu gloated as she too was engulfed in a puff of smoke revealing a head of bright red orange locks and a toothy grin that left a single fang overlapping its owner's bottom lip..

"FOX!" she cringed realizing her mistake.

Shippo transformed before them, morphing from Miyu's small frame into his own larger build.

"You call yourself a master but you can't see through a simple transformation...i'd call that pathetic" he boasted, not hesitating to send a flurry of fox fire at her to keep disoriented.

The demon dodged, springing to her feet and prepared for her own counter only to find that Shippo was already in front of her. Moving on short notice she switched direction, only to run into the blunt hilt of Raigekijin.

Soten's interception was weak, from her injuries but it was enough to cause the demon to step back and rethink her attack.

"Damn" she cursed, immediately recognizing that Shippo would likely be able to see her attacks coming before she made them. Not to mention as long as Soten was around to catch the rebound she couldn't win.

She retreated to a safer distance and growled as she made a gesture with her hand that began to once again engulf her entire body into smoke.

"Running away?" Shippo questioned raising an eyebrow at his opponent's hasty retreat.

"I'm not one to stick around when the odds are stacked against me. Then again that is just how SMART people tend to do things" she sneered as she began to fade away in the cloud. "I don't have much hope for this brainwashed fox, but I wonder how long you'll last in this losing situation Soten…" Her words dissipated with her and when she vanished the aura looming over the forest went with her.

Soten stared at the spot where she disappeared, frowning annoyed at the entire situation.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN-" she yelled up into the sky like the woman would be able to hear her, but all she managed to do was agitate her wound. Groaning she gripped the bleeding split in her side and flinched dropping her blade in favor of cradling her aching body.

"You all right?" Shippo placed a hand gently on her shoulder making her fidget even more from his unexpected movement. She hadn't even noticed him move, let alone get close enough to touch her.

"Ha, I'm fine. I'm a demon remember" she laughed it off trying to appear unbothered.

"I am fully aware that you are a demon, but that doesn't change the fact that you just got hurt. Not to mention Raigekijin is a demon weapon, so even for you those wounds will stick."

While it was true she would heal a lot faster being a demon, it didn't stop the pain from effecting her now. But Soten couldn't bring herself let him help her, in fact she was finding it hard to face him at all. She felt like she had betrayed him.

Knowing now that the Miyu who came to help her was Shippo, she understood why she was so afraid when she saw Yuri disguised as Hiten. He most certainly remember what her brothers had done to him and despite that, he trusted her. But seeing Hiten again almost broke her, and she felt disgusting for even considering taking her brother's path after all that she had worked for.

Shippo could clearly see the distress painted on Soten's face and he could tell it ran deeper than just her wounds. He also knew that if her asked her, she would never give him a straight answer, but he had learned her personality too well to let her scare him off when she obviously needed help. Sighing to himself, he slipped an arm around her waist, resting his hand on her hip so he wouldn't put pressure on the cut in her side and lifted her upright.

As soon as the warmth of Shippo's arm hugged her body, she could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. Without thinking she shoved him away, pressing her cut against his supporting hand before doubling over in pain.

"What are you doing?" he shook his head, at her stubbornness immediately reclaiming his position at her side to help her up.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing'? What are you doing?" she scrambled herself away from him and hid her flushed face.

"Stop being difficult and let me help you woman" Shippo's scolded, bopping Soten's head lightly with his knuckle.

"I told you i'm fine," she whined avoiding eye contact with the irritated fox.

"And I told you to let me help you. I didn't ask if you were fine or not."

Soten only grumbled and started to hobble away. She didn't know how to feel with Shippo being so nice. A part of her was flattered that he would offer, but she still felt like he was pitying her and that just made her angry.

"Okay," Shippo, didn't give her the chance to get far before he used his forearm to bump the back of her legs buckling her knees so he could catch her securely with his remaining free arm. She was much easier to maneuver without her armor and Shippo had no problems carrying her if she insisted on trying to exert herself.

Soten felt the ground separate from her feet and on instinct she clung to Shippo's neck for support. For a moment it didn't register that he had lifted her bridal style, completely removing her ability to protest his help. All that register was how close she was to him. She squeezed to him so tightly, she might as well have kissed him on the cheek. The red in her face got redder and she pulled herself away. Their eyes met for a moment and Soten squirmed harder to wiggle free.

"Put me d-" before she could begin, she was quickly silenced by Shippo gripping her tighter.

"Stop...just stop" the seriousness in his tone took Soten by surprise and she ceased her movement. "I've got you, okay."

He didn't say anything else, but Soten understood. He felt like he needed to support her right now and as long as he didn't hate her, she was fine letting herself look weak...just this once.

She nodded her approval, too ashamed to look at him. He laughed and squat down so she could grab Raigekijin, but she hesitated.

"Um...Shippo" she still wouldn't look at him, but it was better than her avoiding him.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you could carry me on your back?"

"Why?..." the question was not what he expected, but Soten grumbled like the answer should have been obvious to him.

"Because this is embarrassing…" she looked at the way she was being held and the red returned to her cheeks with a vengeance.

"Hahaha" Shippo's laughter only deepened the color on her face as she used whatever momentum she could gather to swat at him.

"Shut up, it's not funny" she complained only earning a bigger reaction from Shippo before he put her gently on the ground and kneeled in front of her.

"Come on let's get you back" he nodded for her to climb onto his back and she complied, not wanting to say anything to give him reason to tease her some more.

As they walked she could still feel her heart being pulled in two directions. In one way she wanted to be like her brothers. Strong, intimidating, worthy of controlling a territory of her own without needing anyone to support her. But the other side of her thought that she could be happy just like she was. Sure she didn't look the strongest being towed around by a kitsune while risking her life to protect a human, but it definitely felt nice...to have someone to look out for her.

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 **Thank you for putting up with me...and reading...thanks for that too.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**

 **-ErynBenae**


	7. Chapter 7 - Summer Night Festival

**I'm in your house...**

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 **Revision Notes: Wow this is the last chapter I have to re-post before we get to the new stuff...I didn't notice that I wrote so much.**

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Soten stepped ahead of the group leading the way as they continued to power through their trip. Despite being injured, she had no intention of stopping. They had been traveling for three days, only resting for sleep or food, and she was determined to keep the pace.

It felt good to focus again, and she would take any distraction she could so she wouldn't have to think about her encounter with the shapeshifter. She felt bad after the battle, but walking through the woods with Shippo alone only made her feel more awkward, not to mention she felt like an idiot for letting that trick get the best of her.

"LADY Soten!" She was lost in her thoughts when a familiar shriek came ripping through the sky.

The group stopped and looked up, greeted by the overwhelming sight of a red dragon descending from the clouds.

"DRAGON!" Miyu scurried behind Shippo and he laughed, knowing that this particular dragon would be no harm to them.

"Tell me you have good news Koryu," Soten tapped her foot, waiting for a response.

"Of course my lady" he beamed dropping something from his mouth to the ground before her.

It was a set of armor, new ones to replace what was broken in her fight. Soten had sent word for Koryu to bring it to her, but it took him longer to get back than she expected.

"EW, it has your drool all over it" she whipped the slim from the plates, leaving them shining from the spit residue that wouldn't come off without scrubbing.

"Well how else would you intend for me to transport it. My arms aren't very useful you know" he waved his short arms making Shippo chuckle at how ridiculous he looked.

The dragon turned his attention to the fox, staring for a moment before shooting him a dirty look.

"Long time no see Koryu" he waved sporting his usual toothy grin.

"And YOU fox, once again causing trouble."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Shippo replied nonchalantly never losing his smile.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" Koryu burst pointing an accusing finger. "If it wasn't for you my master wouldn't even be in this crazy predicament."

"Oh?" Shippo's eyebrow raised intrigued looking at Soten and back to the dragon. "She's a big girl, she can do what she wants."

"DON'T GET SMART WITH ME!" The dragon raged, puffing small amounts of steam from his nostrils. "Lady Soten came here so that she could face YOU again. If you weren't around she would be back in Raimei taking care of business like she always does."

"She wants...to face Shippo?" Miyu spoke quietly, but her words were not lost on Soten's keen hearing.

"SHUT UP KORYU!" She intervened before he had the opportunity to say anything else embarrassing. "DON'T YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE!"

"Well no, I was hoping that you would let me tag along…"

"NOPE!" Soten stopped him again holding up her hand. "You are only going to be more trouble than you're worth."

"But Lady Souen…" he started but paused when his master refused to look his way. He hung his head and sighed, letting his wings drop to the ground.

Soten peered from the corner of her eye and saw the depression sweep over her loyal companions face. She bit her lip and instantly regretted being so harsh.

"Look Koryu, you have an important job okay."

He perked up at her words lifting his gaze to look at her.

"Important?" he repeated questioningly, hoping to hear a good answer.

"You need to protect the valley," she touched his head gently and he made a noise that could only be described as a purr.

"Oh master, I didn't know you had so much trust in me," he beamed letting his prideful smile show clearly on his face.

"You know if dragon's could cry, this guy would be balling right now" Shippo joked under his breath, earning a chuckle from Kohaku.

"Yeah, Yeah. Don't get all mushy on me fire breath" she pushed him back and he smiled harder.

"I won't let you down Lady Soten" he bowed as best he could and Soten waved him off, dismissing him.

He took a few steps forward gaining some momentum, before gliding from the ground and flying just below the clouds.

"That was awful nice of you to say Soten" Shippo grinned at her and she turned away looking at the grass to avoid eye contact.

He immediately noticed her standoffish demeanor and his smile faded. He looked at her like he wanted to say something, but he shook it off and turned back to the road.

"Well I guess we should keep moving" he nodded to the rest of the group and started walking on.

They followed slowly behind, all three humans focused on the scene that just played out. Rin stared for a moment before nudging Kohaku and leaning closer to his ear.

"What was that about?" she gestured to the two demons emphasizing their exchange.

"I'm not exactly sure," he looked to his two friends and could feel the tension looming in the air. "Do you think we should ask?"

"Do you really think they would actually give us a straight answer?"

"Probably not" Kohaku sighed knowing that she was right in assuming that neither Soten nor Shippo would give them an answer if they asked them directly.

"You think it has something to do with what happened a few days ago?" Miyu chimed in, also curious to know why the the two demons hadn't seemed to be speaking since they left the forest. "We don't really know what happened with those two in the woods."

"True" Kohaku agreed. "All they told us was that Yuri was the shapeshifting demon and Soten got hurt. They didn't really elaborate much."

"Yeah, but what could have been so awkward that even loud mouth Soten can't find something to gripe about?" Miyu pondered the question, knowing how strange it was for the thunder demon to be frazzled enough to not want to make a smart remark.

"Maybe Koryu would have had an idea, he seems to understand Soten pretty well." Rin thought about the dragon's remark, blaming Shippo for Soten's aggravation.

"We should have asked him before he left…"

"LADY Soten!" just as Kohaku was going to finish his thought the dragon in question flew into sight, flying too low to clear the treetops.

He was a good distance from them, but they could all see that under the leaves of the broken branches he was tangled in a net. He eventually lost stability and drilled into the ground pushing up the dirt and creating a crater in the grass. As he landed a group of men came from the trees chanting and cheering as they nailed stakes into the net to keep the dragon from taking flight again.

"Oh no" Rin looked on worried.

"What the hell are you doing Koryu?" Soten shook her head, as she watched her familiar squirm clumsy on the ground.

She slung her armor over her head and strapped it securely to her body. Gripping Raigekijin she held it ready to attack and took off running.

"Soten where are you going?" Miyu called out to her and she didn't even bother looking back.

"I am going to get my dragon, what does it look like" she shouted back at them and continued to charge forward.

"Don't hurt them Soten," Rin pleaded as they watched her frame shrink into the distance.

"We should go too," Kohaku waved everyone along and they trotted off to catch up.

As they approached they could see the results of Soten's confrontation. The men were sprawled across the ground tied together with the very rope they were using to restrain Koryu. They thrashed about trying to get loose as Soten strolled around Koryu, cutting the lines tethering him down.

"LET US GO HEATHEN!" one of the larger men yelled as Soten passed, stopping her in her tracks.

"STOP IT! That is obviously a demon, do you want to get us all killed?" the other men protested urging the instigator to stay quiet.

"Trust me buddy if I wanted you dead you would be," Soten continued with her task ignoring the first man's outburst.

"The day I trust a scheming demon is the day I die. No self respecting demon would EVER let us live."

She had all the plans in the world to just ignore him, but the comment about her not being a self respecting demon struck a chord. She just had a hefty dose of this from Yuri, and she would be damned if she let this guy try to demine her too. Spinning on her heel, she placed Raigekijin's blade to the soft skin of his neck. He instantly sealed his lips hoping that he didn't just condemn himself to death.

"You know I am getting real sick of you," she glared and pressed hard enough to pinch the man's skin.

He squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered expecting to die. The pressure on his neck faded and he opened his eyes to see that the weapon had been lowered. Shippo's hand had pushed it gently downward, deflecting it from his face.

"Let's give them a chance to explain themselves shall we," he spoke calmly only to be met with a pained expression and the cold shoulder. Soten stepped back and continued to release Koryu, leaving Shippo to free the men.

Rin studied Soten's face as she moved to release the tethers around Koryu's mouth. It was obvious that something was on her mind, but Rin knew the stubborn demon would never volunteer that information. She wandered over to her side and tapped her shoulder. Soten tensed peeking behind her to see who the person was before turning to face them. Rin could see her relax as she looked back at her, so she could only assume that she was not the one Soten was dreading to see.

"So you want to tell me what's going on with you?" Rin didn't see the need to beat around the bush. Judging from her caution it was clear Soten knew she was acting strange.

"Nothing is going on, just agitated...I guess" she looked down at her shoes, not knowing a better way to describe how she was feeling.

"Agitated because…?" Rin let her words drag waiting for a response.

"Well-" Soten started but quickly adjusted her tone. "I'm aggravated because these idiots are trying to capture my dragon!"

Rin looked beside them and saw that Shippo was guiding the men responsible for trapping Koryu over to them and the rest of the group.

"I think you should explain yourselves" he pushed the men forward and they stumbled in front of Soten, who crossed her arms and waited to hear why she shouldn't reconsider tying them back up and leaving them there in the field.

"WE CAUGHT THIS BEAST FAIR AND SQUARE!" the large man spoke up feeling rather brave now that he was no longer bound.

"This BEAST as you call it, is my familiar. So when you challenge him you challenge me," Soten glared flashing Raigekijin to remind the man that she could return the blade to his neck.

He growled, but a younger man stepped in front of him and held him back.

"Please forgive my father," he bowed to Soten before raising his eyes to look at her.

"What are you doing, don't bargain with a demon" the father in question spoke up, scolding him.

"No father their right. If they wanted us dead then we would be, I don't think that there is any danger in talking," he retorted looking back to the demon with determination. "We are in the midst of preparing for a festival and we saw your dragon flying overhead. We thought that it might have been planning to attack the village so we made the first move to protect our people. We never intended to cause harm."

Soten huffed turning away from the man and cutting the last rope to free Koryu. The dragon lifted himself flexing his body after it had been so tightly restrained. He immediately noticed a rip in the delicate membrane of skin that lined his wing and flinched as he extended the appendage.

"That doesn't look very good," Rin touched the tear gently making sure not to press and cause pain.

"Can you fly Koryu?" Soten questioned feeling a spark of anxiety at the thought of him being hurt.

"Of course lady Soten" he reassured her. The tear would sting, but it was not big enough to leave him grounded.

"Please allow us to show our apology" the young man pleaded focusing on Soten who seemed to be the most concerned. "Come to our village and join us in our festival. There will be plenty of food, even enough for your dragon." He stepped in front of Koryu and bowed. "Please dragon we apologize."

Koryu noticed the man's knees shaking and stood tall looking as intimidating as he could.

"Well I guess I can let you live, seeing as my master has decided to show you mercy. But believe me I don't need your charity" just as he protested the man's offer of food, a rumble erupted from his stomach.

"Idiot," Soten mumbled under her breath and took as step toward the man. "Fine we will tag along for dinner," she agreed shocking her companions to near silence.

"YOU want to stop traveling for leisure time?" Miyu pointed at her for dramatic effect. "What happened to wanting to keep moving so badly?"

"While I have all the intentions in the world of completing this mission as fast as possible. We won't have enough food to fill up Koryu." Soten imagined them trying to satisfy his hunger with the little rations they had for the trip. They carried just enough to eat if they had to camp out and would stop periodically when they were near a village, but what they had wouldn't even be a snack for Koryu. "I would just let him go hunt, but it would end up being a repeat of what just happened. People freaking out and trying to kill him."

"She is right. He can't just go killing the villages cattle" Kohaku agreed. "We have been on the move now for a while and we are almost through to our first major checkpoint. Once we are past this region it should be pretty quick and smooth from there."

"Then I don't see why a small break would be harmful," Shippo chimed in smiling and gesturing for the men to lead the way to their village.

As they arrived an army of children were running through the streets dodging and weaving between houses as they played. They paused to wave as the village men approached, but their snaggletooth smiles were replaced with wide eyes and horror as Koryu descended into the clearing. The children scattered as his massive body eclipsed the sun and projected a huge shadow over everyone nearby.

"AHHH!" A woman yelled and retreated to her house herding her son and infant with her as she fled. Many other women followed suit as the men made sure there was space for Koryu to land.

"EVERYONE!" the younger man started, enticing some of the braver villagers to stick their heads through the doorway to get what view they could from the safety of their huts. "THIS DRAGON MEANS US NO HARM AND NEITHER DO THESE PEOPLE WITH WHOM IT TRAVELS! WE HAVE DAMAGED ITS WING AND WANT TO MAKE AMENDS, NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR FAMILIES!"

There was silence for a moment but no one dared to step out.

"THAT THING IS GOING TO EAT US!" someone finally yelled back making Koryu roll his eyes.

"Oh please human's are much too boney to be enjoyable…"

There were shocked gasps from the hidden villagers as they heard what they assumed to be Koryu's confession of eating people.

"Good job Koryu, way to make them see how friendly you are," Soten grumbled sarcastically.

As the whispers increased more and more people began to disappear into their houses. The young man turned to them and bowed apologetically.

"Excuse them, they will eventually come around."

"It's no problem, he's used to it," Soten pat his side and he nodded.

When Koryu finally grew into maturity the villagers that settled near Raimei had to get used to him too. They were afraid at first but after they realized, the most harm he would do was eat a cow or two, they stopped being so fearful. They never complained to Soten about their live stock either. She assumed it was because they were afraid to talk to her directly despite her fighting off the demons that came near the valley.

The man apologized again on his people's behalf before he and the other men continued to prepare for their celebration. With no extra help from the villagers, the group all pitched in to assist in setting up decorations. Eventually the men brought out a large basket of fish that they said would go bad if they weren't eaten and it was the perfect snack for Koryu who didn't mind helping himself as he watched everyone work. Slowly the little town started to look colorful, but the lack of people made it kind of eerie.

Shippo rested on a tree, catching his breath after hauling out the last of the supplies from the store rooms. He noticed a pair of tiny eyes starting from behind the trunk watching Koryu as he scoffed down his feast. He kneeled and leaned in close so he could talk low enough to not be heard.

"Do you want to pet him?" He asked seeing the child's fascination in the gigantic reptile.

"Mama says that it will hurt me," he replied without diverting his gaze.

"No, Koryu is nice," Shippo reassured standing and walking over. "See watch." he reached up and touched Koryu who glared at him and snorted not bothering to say anything in favor of continuing to eat. "I touched him and I'm fine," he smiled and the boy tiptoed closer. "Come on," he waved him on.

The boy got within arms length and placed a small palm on Koryu's body. The dragon squirmed and looked up to see the timid stare looking back at him.

"GENKI GET AWAY FROM THERE!" a woman shouted as she reached out an arm commanding the boy to come to her side.

Koryu studied the little kid in front of him and the fear in his expression. He had a soft spot for small things, seeing as he used to be much smaller than his current form. He lowered his head, leaning so the boy could touch the top of his nose.

"GENKI!" The woman yelled again and the boy hesitated. He looked at the woman, then back to the dragon before extending a shaky arm and placing it on the dragon's head.

"Koryu puffed and blew small clouds of steam. The boy laughed as he felt the vibrations shimmy through his body.

"GENKI!"

"It's okay mom," the boy spoke through his smile "It tickles."

At this point some of the other villagers had stepped out to see what was happening. A few of the other children broke away from their parents and ran to the dragon.

"I want to touch it too!"

"Me too!"

"Hey cool! he is all scaly, like a fish."

"Hey! I'm not a fish," Koryu protested taken aback by the sudden increase of tiny humans that surrounded him.

He covered them with his wings and everything fell silence. The mothers of the village looked on in horror expecting to see their children be devoured, but instead an eruption of laughter split the air. The kids spilled out from under his wing and an audible sigh was released from the onlookers. They eventually made a game of running underneath Koryu's wing as he flapped it slowly, giving them just enough time to clear the distance to the other side before he covered them again. The women seemed to relax after a few moments and even got closer, encouraging their kids to run faster before they would be blanketed again.

"Wow Koryu, I didn't know you were so good with kids. Look at you, you're a natural," Shippo teased as he looked on and laughed.

"Quiet you! You just remember that you aren't a kid anymore, so I don't have to be nice to you."

Shippo only grinned as one of the kids grabbed his hand and pulled him into the game. Koryu quickly decided to trap him and a few kids pinning Shippo to the ground as the kids pretended to slay him to set the fox free.

"Of course Shippo would find a way to make this whole thing better. That guy has always been good at stuff like this," Rin giggled as she and the others watched from across the clearing.

"Yeah," Soten's short response reminded Rin that they were never able to finish their talk after they were interrupted.

"Speaking of Shippo, you want to elaborate on what's been happening with you two?"

Soten looked like she wanted to speak, but she glanced at Kohaku and kept he lips sealed. She trusted Rin AND Kohaku, but she knew that Shippo and Kohaku spoke frequently. If she was going to spill her guts about how she felt, she most certainly didn't want to run the risk of it getting back to Shippo.

"I have an idea, why don't we all dress up for the festival" Miyu inserted herself between them. She was listening from her position beside Rin, and she too was curious to know what Soten was thinking.

"Why-?" Rin started to question but Miyu elbowed her.

"You know we could have some girl time" she emphasised girl time alluding to the fact that they could use it as an excuse to talk without the boys around.

"Oh…OH" Rin seemed to catch on. "Yeah that sounds like fun, let's go" she didn't waste time grabbing Soten's arm to pull her toward the village.

They had met a woman earlier who offered them to use her house for rest if they needed. After they helped her with her own preparations, she thought it would be the best way to repay them. Once they successfully gathered some festive kimonos, they made their way to an empty bath house to prepare.

When they entered Soten tossed her kimono aside and wandered into the corner, slumping down on the rim of the empty tub.

"Now we have some space," Miyu beamed at her successful plan of getting them some privacy to talk.

"How did you get involved in this anyway? If I am not mistaken RIN was who I was talking to, not you princess" Soten huffed deciding to pop Miyu's bubble of self praise.

"I just want to help too" she tried to sound innocent and Soten rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right you want to be nosey."

"Maybe I do...but when you are being all standoffish, it's no fun to pick at you," Soten was surprised at how genuinely worried Miyu sounded.

"We are both just concerned about you. Did something happen a few days ago...with you and Shippo I mean?" Rin studied Soten's face and saw the sadness return to her gaze.

"Why do you think it has something to do with Shippo?"

"Cause we aren't blind, or crazy" Miyu interrupted. "You have been avoiding him for a while, and given your history of starting arguments with the guy, something must have happened to make you run away like you have."

"It's not that big of a deal...it's just...it's stupid," Soten struggled to find the words and failed miserably.

"Well it must not be as stupid as you think if it makes you act differently. Did he do something to you? I know he is a prankster, but his jokes are normally harmless," Rin couldn't imagine that Shippo would have been overly rude.

"Did you say something to him while he was pretending to be me? We swapped places without telling anyone" Miyu could see her doing something embarrassing if she didn't know that it was Shippo in disguise when they faced off with the shapeshifter.

"Please, anything I would do to you, I would do in front of anyone." Soten boasted making Miyu stick out her tongue at her. "It's just...ghosts…"

"I didn't take you as being superstitious" Miyu raised an eyebrow.

"Well neither did I, until I saw one."

"So you are freaking out because you saw a ghost?" Miyu was clearly not buying this explanation, but Rin was oddly silent.

"Whose ghost did you see?" She finally spoke up, playing along with the ghost story.

"..."Soten hesitated and hung her head. "My brother."

"And seeing him again was bad for you? "

"Not me...Shippo...it's a long story."

"Well we have some time you know" Rin got comfortable and Miyu followed suit.

Soten took a breath and twiddled her fingers around the sash of her pants.

"Do you remember how we told you guys that we met before? Well the reason why we met is not a very good one."

"You mean the situation of you trying to kill him and his friends?" Rin remembered talking to her about this before they left on their journey.

"Thats...bold, even for you Soten" Miyu chimed in having known that Soten and Shippo knew each other, but not the details behind it.

"Well there is a history there" Soten defended, before explaining in detail what she knew about the death of Shippo's father and her own brothers demize.

"That, I did not know about him" Rin looked surprised having taken in the story. "He can be a mysterious guy, but I imagine I would have heard him talk about something like that."

"Well i'm sure he doesn't want to relive that moment, but that is exactly what happened when we ran into that demon in the woods." Soten balled her fist feeling some of her anger bubble to the surface. "She made herself look like my brother."

"So shouldn't Shippo be upset?" Miyu asked gently, not wanting to provoke Soten's anger.

"He was...and i'm sure he has changed his opinion of me." Soten turned her gaze to the floor. "The truth is….I felt kind of...happy...to see my brother again. He was a monster, but a big part of me admired him. I-I actually considered…" she paused looking at Miyu with apologetic eyes. "I'm an idiot" she admitted.

"While that IS true, I don't think that Shippo thinks that about you" Miyu tried to comfort her without breaking her snarky persona.

"Maybe you should just talk to Shippo about all this. It can't be healthy to just pretend like the past between your families doesn't exists."

"I kind of already screwed that up too," Soten seemed dejected. "When we were heading back after the battle he tried to talk to me, but how could I look him in the face and say 'sorry my brother killed your dad, but if he came back tomorrow I would still have a hard time choosing you or him'?".

"So you want to chose Shippo?" Rin pried, trying to get Soten to just say what she wanted.

"NO!" She shot back then paused "...well I don't want to NOT chose him."

"Mmmhm, you are going to talk to him" they spoke in unison both getting up and pulling Soten to her feet.

"Wait why?" Soten dug her feet into the ground so they couldn't move her.

"Because it's obvious you want to" Miyu folded her arms and looked at Soten seriously. "You don't want to hurt him, right?"

"No…"

"Then you should talk to him...he would want you to." her voice trailed a bit. "It would do you both good to understand each other more...because I don't want him to be sad" Miyu found herself starting to sound too sentimental so she had to steer herself back to Shippo being her main focus.

"Fine" Soten grumbled feeling a knot start to form in her stomach. She had worked so hard at making herself stronger, that the thought of a possible weakness made her nervous. She was scared to admit it but Shippo looking down on her made her feel weak.

"But before we do that-" Rin jogged over to the corner and retrieved the discarded kimonos. "We should actually dress up, or our little rouse will be exposed."

It took them a while longer to actually change their clothes, but it was a good way for Soten to let her mind relax for a moment. She never had girlfriends that would help to dress her up, let alone dress up with her.

Miyu always looked good in fancy kimonos, her being a noble's daughter she wore them all the time. She was easily able to effortlessly look elegant in the soft pink kimono covered in pastel colored floral patterns and tied together with a baby blue sash.

Rin too was comfortable in her teal kimono covered in images of cherry blossoms and accented with gold trim. Compared to some of the garments that Sesshomaru brought her, the kimono she had on now was casual.

Soten on the other hand couldn't stop fiddling with the flowing silky fabric. She had kimonos in her wardrobe, but she was never really fond of wearing them. She imagined it was a result of her mother dying well before she had the chance to teach her anything about being 'ladylike'. Not to mention she grew up her entire life around men. The deep red kimono she felt suited her best. It had white flowers that were sparse near the the top and got denser near her feet. It was held together with a gold sash and it highlighted her red eyes that almost matched in color.

Soten wouldn't allow them to put makeup on her, but she did let Rin do her hair. She had developed a fascination for the thunder demon's thick mane of dark black hair, and she would always pester her to where it in a style other than a single messy braid. Rin took her time carefully brushing the delicate locks before securely fastening them into a low ponytail. The band was loose enough to allow sections of her hair to fall naturally over her shoulder as loose strands trailed to her back, resting near her hip where her ponytail stopped.

When they finally emerged onto the streets of the small town, the sky was already turning orange with the setting sun and the streets were full of people decorated in their finest. The many colored candle lanterns lit the buildings in a rainbow of color, and the smell of expertly roasted food was wafting strongly through the air.

Koryu rested in the center of the town, where the villagers seemed to be fixated with touching him or bringing him food. Soten could see his stomach extending well beyond its limits, and she knew that he would have no intention of stopping if they kept providing. He would have trouble flying home with all that extra weight, but hopefully the journey would burn away the excess pounds he would certainly gain from his new "friends".

"Kohaku!" Rin called out to him when she spotted him chatting with several men from the village. It looked like he too was convinced to dress up, wearing a dark blue Kimono with gray pants.

The girls made their way over and it was hard for any of the men to hide the blush in their cheeks.

"Um, hey Rin" Kohaku's voice cracked slightly and he scratched the back of his head nervously. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," she replied coyly looking at her feet to avoid eye contact.

Kohaku noticed the smug smiles on Miyu and Soten's face and realized that they were fully aware of his flirting.

"You girls look great too," he quickly covered himself and Miyu pouted.

"Not beautiful?" she fluttered her eyelashes and he flustered.

"Um...of course...uh"

"Alright Miyu don't make him sweat too much," Soten decided to save him from Miyu's teasing. "Where is Shippo?"

"Oh, he went off with some of the guys to get some more firewood. There is so much food being prepared for Koryu that the fires have been burning longer than expected. I think the excitement of seeing a dragon up close made them go a little overboard."

"That crazy dragon is going to make himself sick" Soten grumbled. "Well I will catch you guys around." She waved and began walking toward the trees.

"Where is she going?" Kohaku looked on curiously as she disappeared.

"She has something she needs to attend to" Miyu spoke up for her. "But why don't YOU go dance with Rin" she pushed him to Rin's side and giggled as he bowed requesting to take her hand so they could dance.

Soten made her way into the trees as she heard the sound of the music muffling the farther she walked. Eventually she heard laughing seeping through the branches. She recognized the booming voice as being the larger man that she threatened earlier in the morning.

As she approached she saw him and his son bundling a rope around a pile full of large sticks and logs. The young man spotted her and stood, waving at her to come over.

"Hello there-" he wasn't able to finish before his dad swatted the back of his head.

"Haven't I taught you more manners than that boy?" he looked to Soten and bowed. "What can we do for you my lady."

"Wow, someone got polite all of a sudden," she folded her arms and he looked surprised.

"Have we met?" This time the son nudged his father.

"She is that demon from earlier, the one that is master to the dragon."

"THAT WAS A WOMAN!?" As soon as the words left his mouth a punch landed on the top of his head.

"You want to ask ME that question?" he cowered as Soten cracked her knuckles.

Before she could make any more threats, a hand encapsulated her raised fist and held it steady.

"Picking fights again?" Shippo stood behind her and she jumped scurrying away and planting herself across from him.

"Shippo? Where did you come from?"

"I was helping them with firewood, but then I thought I might save them from you. Did you come here for revenge?" he joked dropping the last bundle of wood onto the ground.

"No!" she retorted pouting slightly. "I was looking for you…"

He didn't say anything for a moment and only stared at her with an expression she couldn't read.

"ARE YOU GONNA TALK TO ME OR NOT!" she burst, feeling the pressure of his gaze.

"Don't do it, she is a whole nother level of crazy" the man whispered and Soten shot him a look that sent him retreating behind Shippo.

"That she is," he agreed with his one fanged smile and step forward. "But I think I should talk to her nonetheless."

"Go ahead, we will get all this back" the younger man lifted the collected wood and handed one to his father before turning to start their way back.

Soten huffed and started walking slowly in the opposite direction. Shippo followed behind her watching her hair sway as she moved. The silence was more than awkward, but Soten had to collect her thoughts. She couldn't think of a poetic way to say anything so she decided that directness was key. She suddenly stopped and turned on her heel facing him and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Look i'm sorry okay," she blurted out without giving her mind a chance to come up with a reason for her to run away.

"Sorry?"

"I don't have time for you to play stupid okay." She turned her back to him again. "I'm sorry for the other day and for being so weird about it."

Shippo was quiet and she could tell he was waiting on her to say something else.

"That demon…" she began and hesitated, strategically picking the words she planned to say. "She disguised herself as my brother, and I know your father...i'm sorry," she still couldn't manage to get her words unjumbled enough to retell Shippo the situation and not feel bad, so she left the rest of her thoughts unspoken.

"Why are you apologizing?" His question made her think. She wasn't even really sure why, she just felt like she had to.

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's just, when I saw my brother back there I felt...something" She couldn't really tell if she felt happy, relieved or nostalgic but she knew that it felt wrong when she considered all that she knew about her brothers.

"Soten," Shippo started but she refused to turn and look at him. "They were your brothers. I wouldn't expect you to feel what I feel toward them. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to." She stiffened preparing to hear him say that she could be no better than her brother. "Actually, if you want to know the truth...I was scared."

"Yeah, I know" she vividly remembered the fear that read across his face. Even though he was pretending to be Miyu, there was no doubt that, that look was genuine.

"No that's not what I meant," he chuckled. "While you brother is intimidating, I was scared because I thought you wouldn't talk to me anymore."

Soten was shocked and attempted to turn around only to be stopped by Shippo's arms wrapping around her shoulders. He hugged close resting his chin near the nape of her neck, staring at the rock that she was fixated on. Soten felt her cheeks burn under the weight of his body pressed so close to her own.

He sighed, the wind from his breath blowing strands of her hair to tickle the back of her ear.

"Thank you Soten," his gratitude was unexpected, but she didn't really mind the praise. "You...are not your brothers, and you never will be. I have no doubt in my mind that if your brothers were still alive today, you would still end up being the same person you are. You have every right to love your family, but it makes me happy to know that you were worried about my feelings."

"I-I just thought that it would make this trip easier if we weren't at each other's throats," She lied through her teeth, knowing that she had to be convinced to have this conversation.

"That's okay too. It still makes me happy," he squeezed a little more and Soten remembered how close he was. She would say something, but she didn't really want him to move just yet. They both let the silence linger for awhile until the sound of drums from the village snapped Soten out of her trance.

"Um...you know you can't hug me forever right?" she sounded as stern as she could despite being flustered for letting him cling to her as long as she had.

"Would that be so bad though?" Shippo almost whispered the question, but Soten heard it clearly.

"What?" she turned to him surprised forgetting he was leaning so close. Their noses were almost touching and she froze unsure of what to do. Shippo's face was almost unreadable, but he eventually smiled and returned his arms to his sides.

"It's nothing," he stood upright and nodded for her to follow. "Shall we return to the others?"

"Yeah," Soten moved hesitantly, walking slightly in front of Shippo to hide the blush that refused to dissipate.

They made it back well after the sunset, finding everyone under the stars enjoying the music.

"HEY!" Miyu waved them over to where she, Rin and Kohaku were observing the festivities.

"You two have been gone for quite a while," Kohaku look smugly at Shippo finding the perfect opportunity to flip the script and tease him for a change. "Was there something PRIVATE happening?" he wiggled his eyebrows returning the embarrassment Shippo caused him when he picked on him about Rin.

"A true gentleman never kisses and tells," to Kohaku's surprise the fox did not give an instant denial, only heightening his suspicion more.

"Hehehe" Kohaku laughed goofily and Soten landed a punch to the back of Shippo's head.

"STOP BEING STUPID, DON'T GIVE HIM THE WRONG IDEA!" She shouted as she continued pelting the laughing fox with swats across the shoulder.

"Well it's good to see you guys are in good spirits," Rin smiled, seeing the Soten had returned to her old self.

"Of course I am in good spirits, it's such a nice night."

"Speaking of nice, what do you think of the kimonos?" Miyu twirled showing off the frilly pink garment.

"You look lovely Miyu" Shippo nodded and she chirped and smiled giddy from the complement. "I would compliment you too Rin, but I don't think a certain demon slayer would be too fond of that," Kohaku huffed, but didn't deny it.

"And what about Soten?" Miyu pushed the thunder demon forward. "We worked really hard to get her to let us dress her up."

"I was getting there" he chuckled.

He had noticed her kimono when her saw her, but decided against commenting. He knew she would never accept the praise without giving him a hassle, and she had been behaving so weird that he didn't want to risk it. He was going to just silently admire her, but since Miyu brought up it seemed like a good time to appreciate her look.

"You look very nice Soten," he smiled earning a sneer from the demon.

"Stupid cliche comments like that only work on little girls," she grumbled and it didn't take long for a sinister grin to spread across his lips.

"Well then allow me to elaborate." He looked her up and down and stroked his chin in thought never removing his eyes from the pouting demon in front of him. "You look very good in that kimono, and the color compliments you well. Yet what really amazes me is how simply changing your hair, can make you look so innocent in comparison to you normal tough aesthetic. That in itself is actually quite enticing, seeing as both feminine Soten and normal badass Soten have their own appeal. All in all if you want to know my honest opinion on how you look in the eyes of a man who is looking at a woman, and not a little girl. Seeing as you would ask a man if he was attracted to a woman because you wanted to know if he would considering bedding her. And you asked me if I would take that same consideration towards you, my response would be...HELL YEAH."

"...IDIOT!" Soten's face turned at least five different shades of red before she started assaulting Shippo with punches. He ran laughing as she chased him in circles barely able to keep up from the restricted movement of her kimono.

"Wow...that was an unexpected result," Kohaku looked on in awe at his friends direct choice of words.

Rin and Miyu only looked at each other and giggled watching their friends stir up havoc with their antics. It was certainly never a dull moment with both of them around, and it was getting more and more interesting with each passing day.

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 **Thanks for reading. I will see you all in the next chapter!**

 **-ErynBenae**


	8. Chapter 8 - Tiny Saviors

**So after 1 MILLION YEARS I have actually worked on this again. I never intended to drop the story, I just haven't really felt like writing. I did have a random urge to add to this story though, so the other day after re-reading and doing some small edits to the previous chapters I have something that is kind of a chapter. A little short, but I have an idea to go to from here.**

 **Anyway, as always please leave a comment if you like and if you have already read the previous chapters there is no need to reread. I did change them a bit but I did not change the story, only some of the wording that I thought sounded weird.**

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Miyu groaned under the weight of her own body. She felt paralyzed and couldn't tell if she was conscious or just dreaming.

The last thing she remembered was the boiling heat of the summer and boating down the river with the rest of her group. As noon approached they were beginning to swelter under the suns rays and it was quickly starting to become unbearable.

After the festival, they discovered a faster route around the mountains by going up a nearby river. An old fisherman was nice enough to offer them a ride and they accepted without realizing that the heat would be suffocating. Shippo in particular seemed bothered, stretched out across the front of the boat with his hand shielding the light from his eyes, he looked defeated.

He and Kohaku had moved closer to the fisherman and talked for a while before he appeared to slump over and completely check out.

"I wish he would stop being so dramatic," Soten rolled her eyes earning a giggle from Rin and Miyu.

"You know you like it," Miyu teased and Soten looked confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she pouted glaring at the girl as menacing as she could.

"Well he did basically confess to you right?" Miyu spoke very matter of factly, but this was news to Soten.

"Since when?" she made sure to keep her voice down even though she wanted to be far more assertive.

"Yesterday, he basically said that he thought you were attractive and would like to do adult things with you," Miyu wiggled her eyebrows and Soten frowned.

"He was just doing that to be stupid. He would have said the same thing to either of you. If it's not already obvious he likes to pick on me, and that night was already super embarrassing so it was kinda easy…"

As she zoned out she didn't noticed Miyu's excited face waiting eagerly for more explanation.

"Embarrassing? What happened?" she beamed and Soten's franticness heightened under her gaze.

"NOTHING!" she spoke louder than she intended and Kohaku and the fisherman looked back at them in confusion. She glanced at Shippo and saw that he hadn't budged and gave a sigh of relief. "...Nothing...sucks more than this heat…" she fanned herself trying to dismiss her outburst.

Rin and Miyu couldn't contain their laughter at Soten's lame attempt at deflecting attention. Before Kohaku was able to move on with his conversation another eruption of giggles poured from the rear of the boat.

"Well you girls seem to be enjoying yourselves,"Kohaku smiled at them, not knowing what was happening, but glad to see that Soten and Miyu were fighting less.

"It's too hot to enjoy anything," Shippo groaned and flopped onto his back to stare at the clouds.

"Oh stop being a baby," Soten scooped a handful of water and flung it at him.

He jumped forward wiping the liquid from his face and stared Soten down. He looked like he was going to say something but then his face distorted and he whined laying back down.

"To hot right now, but I will remember to get you back for that," he grumbled and Soten rolled her eyes.

"What's your problem anyway?" she huffed concerned that the fox wasn't willing to play his normal tricks.

"He has never been too good with humid heat like today," Kohaku spoke up patting Shippo's head like he was comforting a pet. "He's fine, just uncomfortable. Right Shippo?"

Shippo responded with a growl and turned onto his side so his face was looking out at the water.

Soten smiled to herself. It was interesting to see that even the upbeat fox had bad days, and seeing as their conversation was centered around him, it was a good thing that he wasn't paying much attention to them.

The girls continued to chat as the boat made its way steadily up the approached a fork in the water separated by a large boulder. It was no problem to maneuver around, but the current picked up and the waves bobbed them through the water with more intensity.

The old fisherman struggled to steady their course until Kohaku helped him brace the oar. Once the vessel had come back under control, they both relaxed satisfied with their triumph over the unstable water. As they settled back into steering the boat they were taken aback by the large bubbles forming in their path.

Soten immediately jumped to her feet, trying to balance herself on the moving surface. All sound around them seemed to stop in an instant. The birds and cicadas screeching in the trees all went silent, and even the sound of the water appeared to fade, just before a heavy impact came crashing into the boat.

The was all Miyu could remember. It was slightly fuzzy but the details were creeping back into her mind slowly. She still couldn't manage to move any of her limbs, but using all of her will power she forced her eyes open.

There was only a faint light illuminating from the corner of her vision and and it took her a moment to adjust. She seemed to be in a confined space as she could feel her toes rub against a wooden wall as she twitched her leg. Lying on her back staring up at the ceiling she recognized that she was in a carriage. The light she saw was sunlight peeking through the doors.

The wagon didn't seem to be moving and she could hear nothing around her but the sounds of the forest. Not sure how she got there Miyu couldn't determine if she would be in danger if she left the cart. She opened her mouth to call out, but if there was someone sinister behind this, she would rather not draw their attention. She felt helpless as she lay frozen in the place, so she turned her focus to getting the feeling back in her legs and arms.

The only appendages that she could feel at the moment were her toes, so she wiggled them gently until she could move her ankle and eventually bend her knee. She did the same with her arms flexing her fingers until she had some mobility back. She still couldn't bring herself to stand, but she could manage to flip onto her stomach and pull herself over to the door. She peeked through the opening and saw that she was in a clearing of a forested area. There was no movement so she pushed the door open just enough for her to scooch her body out. Pulling herself with her weakened elbows she was not ready for the drop from the wagon to the floor.

She tumbled over knocking her head on the ground as her legs flipped out behind her leaving her splattered onto the grass. Besides the pain from hitting her head she felt exhausted, just from pulling herself the short distance out of the carriage. Trying to catch her breath she looked around at her surroundings staring back into the trees for any signs of people. With nothing to see she resigned herself to scooting about until she regained complete function of her limbs.

Turning to look up at the sky, she came eye to eye with a small smile. A young girl, who looked to be no more than ten gazed down at her happily.

"Hi" she squeaked and Miyu flenched not expecting the girl to speak so eagerly.

"W-who…" Miyu strained trying to sit upright and the girl ran behind her to push against her back and help her stabilize herself.

"Lady are you sick?" She asked innocently staring at Miyu's weakened physique.

"No I'm…" Miyu couldn't seem to catch her breath as she clenched her chest in shock at how little air she was able to inhale. "How did I get here?" She finally managed to sputter the question out and the girl cocked her head in confusion.

"What do you mean? Are you saying you don't remember?"

Miyu shook her head and the girl frowned.

"I can take you to someone for help" the girl seemed concerned and stretched out a hand to Miyu.

"I-I can't really move," Miyu smiled at the gesture, but she knew she couldn't move. "Could you find my friends," she had the sudden realization that they were nowhere in sight and if anyone could explain what might have happened it would be them.

"Friends?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, GET AWAY FROM THERE!" The girls turned to see woman walking from the trees. As she got closer Miyu's jaw dropped. The woman approaching was... her. She had Miyu's face and clothes, the only difference was the voice.

It seemed unreal, but seeing the figure she remembered what happened after the boat capsized into the water.

The bubbles they saw in the river came from a demon. A huge beast that seemed to be made of spiraling water. It took the shape of a four legged creature with a gaping maw of teeth. Miyu got a glimpse of it before she sank under the waves.

Where did it come from and how come none of her companions felt its presence. She was confused, but as she sank lower her thoughts started to turn to pure panic. She wiggled and waved her arms, struggling to get her bearings. Looking up she saw the sunlight breaking through the darkness and pushed herself toward it as best she could in the disorienting water. As she got closer to the top she heard the muffled sounds of her friends voices. They were shouting and she couldn't tell if they were cries of pain or if they were calling out to her. Then she heard her name.

"MIYU!"

It was Soten. She knew that overpowering scream from anywhere. She moved frantic to get to the surface. She wanted to let them know she was okay. She could almost feel the waterline breaking at her fingertips when she heard a voice respond.

"I'm okay," it was her voice, but she wasn't sure how.

Shocked, she felt herself reaching, trying to show them where she really was, but a piercing cold pain stopped her in her tracks. Looking to her feet they were encased in ice. The water around them seemed to have frozen in a pillar that stretched from the deepened floor of the river and encapsulated her legs before tapering off to a sharpened point resting just under her belly.

Feeling the fleeting air fighting to stay in her lungs Miyu pulled at her limbs to no avail. Looking down into the darkened waters a faint blue glow caught her attention. Eyes. Demonic blue eyes of a demon crawling from the river. It looked almost identical to the one that surfaced above, but as it rose it brought a startling temperature shift that tightened Miyu's chest in knots.

Instinctively she yelped releasing what little precious air she was holding to bubble away. She didn't know what to do and all she could think of was that she didn't want to die. She looked up to the water's surface as her vision began to get splotchy. The sunlight started to blur, but she could clearly see her own face smiling back at her right before it all went black.

Here again she was standing face to face with herself and words failed her. The little girl she spoke with looked between them both as the imposter wrapped her arm around Miyu's neck.

"What are you doing up?" her tone suddenly changed to a gentle motherly sound. Her hug made Miyu flinch and she pulled away but seemed to be locked in the embrace.

She tried to pull with more force and she felt a prick against the back of her neck. Her body felt numb again and he slumped forward. Her mind was racing, she could still see and understand every word being spoken, but she couldn't move and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't speak.

"There. See you are still sick" the woman chuckled allowing Miyu to slump onto her chest.

"Hey lady are you two sisters?" the little girl asked, with her head swiveling back and forth between the two identical figures before her.

"We sure are" the woman smiled and Miyu's internal dialog screamed in denial. "You are very smart, could you tell because we look alike?"

"Yep. I have a sister too so I know what it is like, but why did you leave her here all alone if she is sick?"

"Well you see our cart broke-" she bagan and the girl trotted off to the cart and look it over.

"It looks okay to me" she chirped patting the wheel to prove it's hardiness.

"I found someone to help us fix it" she sounded annoyed that the girl was questioning her story, but seemed to want to keep her cool.

"Where are they?" she looked around and then back to the woman.

"I was just seeing them off when I returned to find you meddling in our business" she snapped lifting Miyu from the ground and pulling her back in the carriage.

"If you need help with your sister, I know someone who can help" the girl was unfazed by her outburst.

"No thank you, we really must be going." She opened the cart to place Miyu inside and shrieked to see the same girl emerging from the door. "How did you?" She looked wide eyed as the girl leapt down.

She giggled and circled around to join the identical image of herself that still stood behind them.

"I told you I have a sister too" She smiled as they lined themselves up side by side.

"Heh heh, isn't that great…" the woman's eye twitched seeing two annoyances instead of one.

"We can help you, if you'd like" they spoke simultaneously like they shared a brain.

"I SAID NO THANK YOU!"

"We were talking to her," they pointed to Miyu paying the imposter's outburst no mind.

"LOOK I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS -" the woman began again, but was silenced by rustling in the bushes.

"Girls... there you are," a man shimmed his way into the clearing and smiled at the children before turning his attention to the Miyu's. "Well, well what is this. What beautiful twin sisters, just my luck," he grabbed the imposters free hand and caressed it gently. "My lady I do hope that my daughters have not troubled you, they can be quite adventurous sometimes."

"We didn't do anything dad."

"They are probably just excited because they don't meet many other twins," he seemed to ignore their protest in favor of stroking the hand he grasped with his fingers.

One of the girls huffed and drew her foot back, landing a kick right into the man's ankle.

"OW!" he yelped and hopped on one foot cradling the throbbing area.

"WOULD YOU STOP BEING SO WEIRD!"

"YEAH WE ARE GOING TO TELL MOM!"

"Now girls please let's not be rash" he pleaded and the imposter rolled her eyes.

"Really I have to go now," she plopped Miyu into the carriage and moved to position her when a hand clenched her shoulder.

"Sorry, but my girls seem certain that there is a demon in this area," the man smiled as she looked back at him. "And you see the only beings around are you and your sister, so you see my concern…"

"We are more than capable of taking care of ourselves."

"You misunderstand me…" he smirked as Miyu's hand suddenly gripped her tight.

She jerked her head around unbelieving that Miyu would have been able to break from her paralysis. From the corner of her eye she noticed a small paper doll that was moving on its own. It waddled a few steps from Miyu before toppling over, unfolding into a sacred sutra and burning away. She shot her gaze back to the strangers and the girls both seemed to be in a praying stance with their index and middle finger pointed upward and pressed to their lips.

"Did you-?"

"YES! I NEED YOU TO HELP ME PLEASE!" the real Miyu silenced her question as she yelled from the top of her lungs, finally able to answer the little girls' offer of help.

"Very well then," the man pulled a sutra from his own kimono and flung it with ease at the imposter's form.

Not expecting the move to happen so quickly the woman shrieked as the paper touched her skin and engulfed her in a holistic flame. Her flesh looked to burn away as the facade of Miyu faded leaving the familiar face of Yuri writhing in pain. She thrashed about pulling at the sutra and ripping it away before running for the trees and disappearing from sight.

"Hmm," looks as though my sutras have lost some of their luster," the man pouted as he watched her flee. "I guess it is to be expected, a shame too, she was very beautiful."

"Aren't we going to go after her dad?"

"No, I think our attention is needed much more here," he smiled at Miyu clutching the side of the wagon still out of breath as she slowly regained her senses. "Now miss please allow me to introduce myself. I am the monk Miroku and you need not worry about that pesky demon anymore, I will personally make sure that you are safe."

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 **Most definitely on the shorter side when compared to the last few chapters, but if I am going to start writing this again I have to ease into it.**

 **Thanks for reading though, I hope you enjoyed it and I am sorry for not posting in a while.**

 **See you guys in the next chapter!**

 **-EryneBenae**


	9. Chapter 9 - Alone Together Again

**I am back with another chapter, this one is not very long, but it is mostly Rin and Kohaku fluffyness.**

 **As always I post to share with you all and when you feel the need to comment or critique feel free to do so.**

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Rin felt her body cut into the thick humid air as she was thrown a few feet up before crashing into the chilled water of the river. She resurfaced and got a clear view of the demon that had abruptly ended their leisurely river ride. The monstrous form had no face. It looked like it was made from the water itself and its head curled over from its shoulders like a wave cresting at the end of its life.

She gasped as she felt a rush of liquid fill her mouth unexpectedly, submerging her back into the depths before she could regain her footing. She was struggling to focus, but she managed to see Soten in battle with the demon. The more times she made it to the surface the faster she seemed to be pushed under again. It was starting to become hard to breath and she could feel the fear setting in.

"RIN!" she heard Kohaku's muffled voice and internally screamed for him to help her.

"Kohaku go!" She heard Shippo call out to him, still not able to make heads or tails of what was happening on the surface above her.

After Shippo's outburst, she felt arms wrap securely around her waist and hoist her up. As soon as fresh air hit her face she hacked up water to clear her lungs. She turned to see Kohaku who held onto her. He started to move for the shore, just as the demon swung downward at them. His heart stopped in his chest as he braced himself for the impact, shielding Rin by hugging her to his body. Squinting his eyes closed he heard the crash of water and the river split beneath them. There was no pain from impact, but the momentum pushed them swiftly upstream.

Kohaku held Rin as tight as he could and they were thrusted through the water. He caught a glimpse of Soten and Shippo before the waves swallowed them, but he was not prepared for the rapid current that swept them away.

Rin began to feel jagged rocks tear at her skin, as the lack of air made her head spin. Her mind couldn't focus under, and when her lungs felt ready to burst, darkness took over and the world stopped existing.

"RIN!" she could hear her name, but her eyes refused to open. "RIN!" she heard it again followed by a flurry of coughing and desperate gasps for air. Eventually a hard press on her chest disturbed the liquid settled near the pit of her stomach and it came rushing out. Sitting upright she expelled it from her windpipe and welcomed the taste of the oxygen that replaced it. A hand rubbed her back, helping to ease her breathing back to a normal rhythm.

She looked to her side to see Kohaku in not much better shape than herself. He had dragged them to shore, but they hadn't moved far from the river's edge. His once neat ponytail dropped to his shoulders, and there were rips in his demon slayer suit where the rocks managed to snag him. Her own Kimono was torn and she could see a messy stain of red soaking into the fabric around her ankle.

Lifting the cloth gently she frowned as it peeled from her skin revealing a relatively deep gash in the thin flesh just above her foot.

"That doesn't look good," Kohaku pressed on her wound to stop the bleeding.

Rin flinched but didn't pull away knowing that it would be easier to diagnose with less blood. She scooched to the water's edge and placed her leg into the stream watching the red mix into the current as it flowed away. She pulled the throbbing appendage back and examined the area, relieved to see that it was not as bad as it appeared from the blood. Making a makeshift bandage from the hem of her kimono she tied it tightly and looked it over to review her work. Shifting her body she wobbled to her feet limping to put most of her weight on her good foot.

"Rin what are you doing?" Kohaku intervened supporting her bad side to help her stand.

"We have to go back," Rin seemed determined and immediately started to hobble away before Kohaku practically lifted her to keep her in place.

"Are you serious? Rin you are hurt."

"We can't just leave everyone," she pushed back not caring to acknowledge the bumps and bruises that decorated her body.

"Well what good would we be if we go back in this state?" He protested and she frowned.

"Kohaku we have a job to do," she wiggling in his grasp to try and shake herself free, but his grip was too strong.

"I understand that, but I am not letting you walk back in there like this." He saw the frustration plastered on Rin's face and sighed. "Before I jumped in to help you, Miyu was with Shippo, and Soten looked like she was holding her own, so I am sure everyone is fine."

"If they're not?" she asked meekly imagining the worst.

"Then I won't risk you too," Kohaku sounded very matter of fact and stroked Rin's cheek, placing her down gently. "I will go back and see what I can find."

"So now I am just supposed to let you go by yourself?" Rin's voice started to rise and she shot Kohaku a stern look.

"I am sure the others are still okay and with your leg you would end up being dead weight."

"Dead weight huh?"

"You know what I mean…" he grabbed her cheeks with both his hands, cupping her pouting face so she would look at him. "I trust you completely and I know you are more than capable, but I dare not knowingly bring you into danger when you are not at your best."

She twisted her mouth into a half smile and grasped Kohaku's hand in her own.

"Excuse me," startled the two jumped at the unexpected voice joining their conversation. "Is everything alright?" an old man strolling up from downstream clutching a walking stick to his side and a small satchel of fish across his back.

"No sir, actually we need some help," Kohaku didn't hesitate to speak up. "We were attacked on the river and my friend has been injured. Is there a place I can take her where she can rest?"

"Oh my," the man looked worried glancing at Rin's leg and seeing the small drip of blood that managed to escape from under her bandage. "Well it's not much but you can come to my home. I run an inn just upstream we might be able to accommodate you."

"Kohaku, what about the others?" Rin refuted, still wanting to return to their companions.

"I will find them Rin, I promise, but first I have to make sure you are safe," he gripped her arm and helped her walk as they followed the man up the nearby path.

It could have been that he was older or maybe he was simply being considerate of Rin's current condition but he moved slowly guiding them through the trees until they came to a steep stairway. Above, they could see the shape of a large inn nestled in the edge of the mountain. They ascended as quickly as possible, but before they made it halfway the patter of footsteps coming toward them brought them to a halt.

"FATHER!" a woman hustled down the stairs and b-lined straight for the old man. "Thank goodness you are safe."

"Ume, what's the matter" He hugged her close and tried to calm her frantic breaths.

"We found a man in the river and he said that he was attacked by demons, we knew you went there to fish so we were worried."

"This man, is he an old fisherman?" Kohaku interrupted knowing that the man who escorted then down the river must have been thrown from the boat too.

"Yes he is...how did you know?"

"We might know him...do you think you could take us to him?"

The woman nodded at Kohaku's request and they were lead up to the main building of the inn. The entrance way was crowded with patrons trying to get a glimpse into the side room where another woman appeared to be attending to a man sprawled across the floor.

"Saiya," the woman Ume called out as she nudged the onlookers aside to squeeze them all through. "How is he?"

"He seems fine, exhausted, but mostly some cuts and bruises," she covered the man with a sheet and he grunted peering up at the group arriving.

"Ah it's you…"he exclaimed trying to sit upright as Kohaku and Rin entered the room. "I feared the worst, but I am glad that you are alright."

"I should be saying that about you," Kohaku smiled back and helped Rin gently to the floor. "Sorry to ask, but do you think you could take a look at her too?" he gestured Saiya toward Rin after she finished dressing the fisherman's wounds. She nodded and turned her efforts to Rin's ankle, cleaning the wound properly and applying a fresh bandage.

"Sir could you tell me what you remember?" Kohaku sat next to the man and peered down at his tired gaze.

"Not much," he sighed. "I fell into the water and managed to grab hold of a rock. I saw you two get pushed down river and I tried to get to land, but the water was too treacherous. Last I remember that grumpy fella with the orange hair made some kinda flame appear and the demon looked like it was turning to steam. It would have been fine if its body hadn't broken apart. It sent a huge rush of water. I couldn't keep my grip and got swept away, I ended up stuck in the bank near this inn and they found me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Kohaku touched the man apologetically. "I will make sure that we find a way to pay you back for your help in getting us as far as you did." Kohaku stood and secured his weapon to his hip. "I am going back."

He seemed to direct the statement to no one in particular, but Rin knew it was meant for her. She grabbed his arm as he headed for the door and squeezed, not wanting to let go in fear of what might happen to him if she did.

"You said it yourself remember, we have a job to do and we can't just leave everyone," he smiled at her and she nodded, happy that her words resonated with him enough to keep him motivated.

"I know, but that doesn't mean that I can't worry about you," she released her hold on him and dropped her hands to her sides. "Come back to me in one piece okay."

Kohaku felt himself blush under the expectation of Rin waiting for him. Something about her caring so much made his heart skip a beat. He was sure that their friends were safe, and he was going to bring them back for her. He trotted off through the crowd and the inn keeper's daughters smiled at her.

"We can't spare much, because we have quite a few guests, but we do have a room for you to rest in if you'd like," the younger girl Saiya finished tucking away the rest of the bandages and motioned to help Rin walk.

"Thank you, I would really appreciate it," though she responded as cheerfully as she could there was a hint of concern weighing on her words that she couldn't mask. She trusted him wholeheartedly, but in this moment she could only think about how she so badly hoped that Kohaku would keep his promise and return to her safely.

It took awhile to make it back to the location where their boat flipped. Kohaku found his way by following the debris scattered near the water's edge. The area seemed calm again. He could hear the wales of the cicadas slowly dying with the setting sun, and the once hectic waves were still. There was no sign of the demon, but he knew a creature like the one that attacked them would not leave an easy trail. Their bodies normally returned to liquid when they perished so it most likely would have recombined with the river.

Looking about he searched for signs of the rest of their party. There was not much around aside from a few damaged trees and some scorch marks.

"SHIPPO! SOTEN!" he called out but no one responded. Taking a few more steps into the woods he noticed footprints. There were more than one set, but he couldn't see much in the fading light. "MIYU! GUYS ARE YOU HERE!" he tried to get a response after following the footsteps a few more feet.

He turned himself in a circle surveying the area, until a crunch disturbed his focus. He reached down and found a small wooden spinning top wedged into the dirt. He picked it up and examined it immediately recognizing it as Shippo's. Moving swiftly in the direction where he found it he spotted a small colorful stick. He had seen Shippo use them when they were younger, and he was certain it had to be his. He found a few more, before the sunlight was lost and he started to loose his tracks.

Not wanting to get completely turned around he marked his location by drawing a symbol on a tree trunk with a piece of charcoal. He would have to come back in the morning when there was more light, but it looked like Shippo might have been leaving a trail to follow and that meant, they probably got away from the demon okay.

The sky was already completely blackened when Kohaku re-emerged at the inn. He was greeted by the old man and his daughters who were clearing up food from diner as he arrived.

"You are back, thank goodness," the older sister Ume sighed in relief at seeing his freckled mug stroll through the door.

"Yes, sorry it took so long. I really didn't intend to return so late," he bowed an apology. He wasn't paying attention to time when he was tracking, and forgot that he still had to travel back to the inn and get Rin.

"Not at all, you are welcome to stay here for the night if you'd like. It's really no trouble."

"We couldn't ask you to do that," he protested not wanting to inconvenience the family more than they already had.

"Really we insist, besides it would do your wife well to stay off of her leg for a while."

"No really...my-my wife?" Kohaku stuttered. Ume said it so casually he almost missed the comment.

"Are you and Miss Rin not married?"

"Don't be silly Ume, couldn't you tell from how worried she was earlier. Obviously they are engaged. That is why separation is so tough on them because she has been eagerly awaiting their union and couldn't stand to see it left unfulfilled if he got hurt." Saiya spoke very matter of factly, believing that her fantasy story was truth.

"Oh right, yes that makes sense," Ume agreed and clasped her hands together in awe. "You two are a fine pair, we wouldn't want to keep you from her though so you should hurry along. I think she was waiting for you to return."

She pushed Kohaku in the direction of a room before she and her sister walked away all smiles at correctly deducing he and Rin's non existent marital status. He stood stunned for a moment, not able to drain the blood from is cheeks.

Did he and Rin really appear to be married?

He had imagined it before, but he always assumed most people could tell that they were just companions. With his mind going a thousand miles a minute he didn't notice the taps to his shoulder.

"Kohaku are you okay?" he swiveled around quickly to see Rin waiting patiently for him to respond.

"RIN!" he jumped like he had been caught doing something wrong. "Why are you standing, are you okay?" He regained his composure and remembered the situation and her injury.

"I'm fine," she reassured. "It feels a lot better now," she extended her leg so he could see her manuvor with no pain. "So did you find everyone?"

"Not exactly…" he started to explain and saw the dread creep into her face. "It is not what you think, I am sure they are fine." He held out his hand with the trinkets that he found while tracking earlier.

"This looks like Shippo's" Rin clinched the little toy top in her hands and twirled it.

"Yep, I am pretty sure that he was leaving them for us to follow," Kohaku beamed sure his deduction was correct.

"I knew we could always count on that fox," Rin glowed, feeling the fear she had been holding wash away with Kohaku's presentation of proof that her friends were more alive than dead.

"We can follow the trail in the morning, it's a bit too dark right now." Kohaku tucked away the items and looked around. "The girls mentioned that I could stay in a room, but I don't see any available."

"You stay in that one," Rin pointed to the door that she had just exit from still partially cracked open with the faint light of a dying fire escaping into the hall.

"But isn't that your room?"

She nodded.

"Then where is mine?"

"That one is yours too…" Rin felt her face flush and she looked at her toes. "Apparently they are really crowded and they only have one room."

Kohaku dug his face into his palms and sighed.

"No I think I know what this is." He peeked at Rin through his fingers and swallowed hard. "I think they might have the impression that we are married."

"WHA!?" Rin gasped not expecting the room situation to be the result of such an embarrassing misunderstanding.

"Look i'll go sleep outside and keep watch," Kohaku wanted to escape, he couldn't bring himself to look at her and he would prefer not to make things more awkward by telling the innkeeper's of their mistake.

Turning on this heel to flee he felt Rin grab his hand.

"I DON'T MIND IT!" she blurted out hurriedly instantly regretting being so hasty and not watching her volume. "You can stay Kohaku..."

He smiled feeling his heart lift with her request. Her wanting him to be near was more than enough of a reason for him to stay. He chuckled to himself, grabbing her hand and drawing her attention from looking at the floor to staring back at his own.

"Okay," the word was so simple, but Rin's smile made it mean so much more to him.

They retired back into the room and he placed himself in the far corner after securing his armor and weapons beside him. He made sure he had a view of the room that would allow him to see every angle without invading Rin's space. He nestled in and got comfortable, expecting Rin to do the same but her hesitation gave him pause.

"What's wrong Rin?" he question seeing the confusion on her face.

"Nothing...it's just...you don't have to sleep so far away," she gestured to the distance and he laughed.

"It is not like I don't want to come closer. This is just the best spot to see everything."

"Oh…" Rin appeared to accept his explanation, but within a few seconds of her response she was dragging the futon to his corner.

"What are you doing?" he questioned genuinely surprised by her actions.

"I just want to be near you...is that okay?"

Kohaku felt himself tense at her words. Of course he didn't mind her being near him, he loved it when she was around, but he didn't know what to do when she was this close, and they were alone. Last time it happened he went overboard and he didn't want to be so rash with Rin again.

"It's okay," she looked at her feet dejected. "If you don't want to-"

"No Rin, I do," he paused. "It's just…" he silenced himself taking breath and sliding a bit closer to her. He suddenly became so hyper aware of his body that he was consciously counting every time he had to swallow. He sat quietly with no more words as Rin smoothed out the futon and snuggled herself between the blankets.

She stared at the wall for a while and couldn't help but wonder what Kohaku was thinking. It was rare for them to be alone together, and now that they finally have a moment, it had to be under unfavorable circumstances. Rin found herself more aggravated than she wanted to be. She tossed herself about and pouted stealing random glances at Kohaku when she thought he might have fallen asleep.

He hadn't.

After a few more moments of her fidgeting Kohaku placed his palm on Rin's head.

"Rin?" he lightly stroked her head and she froze in place to let herself enjoy the feeling of her hair being jostled. "Rin, are you mad at me or something?"

"What?" the question caught Rin off guard. She was certainly antsy, but she didn't intend to make him think she was angry.

"Well earlier, when I protested you sleeping over here it wasn't because I didn't want you to," he defended assuming her restlessness was a result of his earlier comments.

"I'm not mad Kohaku," she smiled turning over on her stomach and propping herself up on her forearms.

"Okay" he acknowledged but didn't seem convinced. "It's just you have been sighing reapeatedly for the past ten minutes, so I thought maybe you got the impression that I didn't want you near and that's not true."

"I did think it was weird that you were being a little distant," she couldn't lie, with their friends gone she was relying on his company and it hurt when she though he was avoiding her. Yet despite her confusion at his behavior she never interpreted it as him purposely trying to hurt her. "I know you always have your reasons Kohaku."

He paused at her comment and removed his hand from her head placing it in his lap.

"Rin do you remember when you accidentally ate that herb?"

"Yeah" Rin flushed recalling the embarrassment she felt for not recognizing the plant even after all her studies under Kagome.

"When I found you, do you remember what you said to me?"

She shook her head.

"Everything is pretty fuzzy. I don't really remember much before waking up in the healers hut." She looked into Kohaku's face and could see an unreadable emotion darken his eyes. Rin had seen him with that look before. It normally appeared when he thought to much, so she wanted to make sure he was okay. "What happened?"

"It's not important."

"Kohaku," she looked at him pleadingly and he grinned at her.

"Really, it's not important," he returned to pet her head and laughed. "Get some sleep okay we have to find our friends tomorrow."

She nodded, still showing the worry on her face. She turned on her side and this time she laid still, but sleep avoided her as his question about remembering what she said plagued her mind.

"Rin?"

She didn't know how long it had been when Kohaku broke her thoughts. She didn't move, choosing not to look at him to assure that he didn't recognize how troubled she was.

"Are you awake?"

She nodded again finding it the easiest method to respond. He was silent for a moment then she felt the futon rustle and the warmth of Kohaku's body rest behind her. He kept a few inches between them, but he was more than close enough for Rin to feel the bend of his body mimicking her own.

"Is this okay?"

If he could see her face he would know the answer. Her previous worry about what she might have said completely vanished and she struggled to calm her heart beating in her chest. She nodded feverishly not wanting him to interpret her silence as rejection. She heard him chuckle before his head came to rest beside her's.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the night, but once Rin finally fell asleep it was the most peaceful rest she had in awhile. Despite the uncertainty the morning brought, waking up with Kohaku by her side gave her a reason to smile. He was probably trying to console her after getting separated from the party and the awkwardness that the night brought them, but when she saw his sleeping face in the early sunlight she knew she wouldn't mind waking up with him everyday.

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 **That is all for now folks. I will start working on the next chapter when I have some time.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-ErynBenae**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Ice Demon's Lair

**Here is another chapter for you all. Yes I am up at 12am posting this...don't you judge me.**

 **I have also drawn cover art as well as my profile picture. I kinda thought it was time. Anyways please enjoy and fell free to leave a review as always.**

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Soten watched as the huge form of the water demon plunged into the river, sending Rin and Kohaku barreling downstream. She felt helpless as every swing she took with Raigekijin swept through its body harmlessly having no effect in slowing the creature down. Contemplating her next move, she wasn't prepared for the strike that came at her.

Barely managing to dodge, she landed clumsy on her feet and stumbled, regaining her footing just in time to see a second blow coming her way.

"SOTEN!" Shippo's body crashed into her as the momentum knocked them both to the ground and out of the demon's grasp.

The hand that threatened them impacted and exploded into a rush of water that covered the area. The wave engulfed them pushing them backward until they bumped into a nearby tree. The liquid filled Soten's mouth forcing its way down her throat until she hacked it forward clearing her lungs.

"Stay focused," Shippo scolded before he sprang to his feet and used his free arm to haul her upright.

"I am not afraid of a little water," She shot back through quick gasps as she kept a close eye on the demonic form looming over them. "Shouldn't you be looking after Miyu?"

"She is safe," he tilted his head toward the tuft of bushes where the small form of Miyu sat huddled and shaking, attempting to keep herself from the demons view. "We have bigger problems." As the sentence left his lips another fist swang down. Grabbing Soten firmly by the rim of her armor he leap back pulling them just out of reach before the impact sent another wave sloshing over the riverbank. Planting himself gracefully on a dry patch of land he let Soten slip from is grasp and balance herself before leaving her to stand on her own.

"Thanks, but I can handle myself," she scoffed as she jumped forward arching the thunder pike behind her head for another attack. Like the last few swings this one too swept through the creatures body with no effect.

The water demon moved to retaliate, but as it pushed forward to strike its body broke apart on contact with the dry land. It flustered feeling a portion of its mass get absorbed into the soil.

Seeing an opening Shippo dashed between the demon and Soten. He channeled whatever strength he could muster into his fingertips and his hands began to glow with the familiar greenish color that Soten had seen countless times since their journey began. Pushing his palms in the demon's direction flames engulfed the creature, but unlike the typical harmless aura, the fox fire had an outline of orange red that began to brighten as the heat around the creature drastically increase.

It reeled its head back unprepared for the sudden rise in temperature. With it's entire body being made of water there was nothing it could do to quell the onslaught of energy being blasted into its face. Steam began to seep from every visible inch surrounding the demon before large globs of liquid dropped from its body covering the ground in a fresh coat of water that quickly receding back into the river. It only took a few moments for the intensity to break the creature's form, and it crumbled into floating pools of shapeless liquid that came crashing down in a waterfall that pushed Soten from her feet.

Falling backward, she once again found herself hitting a tree before she came to rest at the trunks base. Clearing the droplets of water from her eyes she refocused and immediately noticed the deafening silence that returned to the forest. She glanced around and watched as the river began to slowly calm itself, lulling back to the stillness it had earlier in the morning. Sound started to fill her ears again as cicadas screeched in the trees and she felt a smile spread across her lips.

"WHOA SHIT THAT WAS COOL!" Soten danced excitedly to herself. Springing to her feet, she jogged over to Shippo. "I didn't think you had that in you," she extended an arm to help him up and paused when she noticed his paling complexion and heavy breaths.

"You okay?" her hand unconsciously moved from offering help, to brushing away the soaking locks of orange hair clinging to his cheek.

"I'm fine..." he stopped and eventually looked up at her with a smile. "That just took more out of me than I expected" he laughed and gripped her forearm lifting himself up with her help.

"You sure? Cause it looks like we might be on our own for a while, and I don't need you gettin weird on me," she looked around and took in the scene.

She had seen Rin and Kohaku get swept away and Miyu was still sheltered in the corner. The demon had completely demolished their boat and with Kohaku holding the map she was not entirely sure of where they were.

"Aw, are you worried about me?" Shippo's tired grin turned devilish and Soten rolled her eyes.

"Must you always make everything I say into a joke?

"A joke? Why dear Soten I'm insulted. That was a genuine question."

"Aren't you at all worried about our friends," Soten ignored him in favor of moving to retrieve their human ward from her hiding spot in the brush.

"Of course I am worried, but i'm sure they're fine," Shippo followed suit walking slowly behind Soten to hide how winded he still felt. "The moment they got swept away they were in less danger than if they were still here fighting, and they're together. I know I can count on them to protect each other."

They approached the bush where a drenched Miyu sat hunched, quivering with her face cupped in her hands. She had remained out of view of the demon, but she seemed frozen to that spot since Shippo told her to hide there.

"You okay Miyu?" Shippo lightly pet her head briefly soothing the sobs she muffled into her palms.

"Is it over?" she whispered, parting her fingers to look out at the water.

"Looks like it, but we can't stay here" Soten interjected, knowing that the longer they waited the more distance there would be between them and their companions.

"I think we should move farther inland. Who knows if there are any more of those things lurking about."

"THERE ARE MORE OF THEM!" Shippo's comment sent a surge of fear down Miyu's spine and she shrieked at the thought of another creature surprise attacking them.

"I don't think so, we just need to be safe" Shippo reassured her, helping her stand upright and dust the speckles of mud off her kimono.

She kept her head bowed still shaken from the attack. Inching herself behind Shippo, she quietly stared at her sandals for a few moments before taking a slow step toward the edge of the river. She stood close enough to look at her own reflection and smiled into the darkened depths.

"Miyu?" Shippo called out after realizing she'd wandered away.

There was no response.

"Earth to Miyu can ya hear us?" Soten echoed Shippo's concern.

Still no response.

"GIRL, ARE YOU IGNORING ME!" Soten huffed stomping closer with Shippo in tow.

As she reached out to grab Miyu a puff of smoke drifted into her vision quickly dissipating into nothing. She was puzzled at first but then a chill swept through her body and she realized. It was her own breath.

The temperature was extremely and uncharacteristically cold the closer she got to Miyu. She didn't have a chance to think before a crackling of thick frost surged from the water and made its way up to her feet. It wrapped together into a thick vine of pure ice that whipped around her, pinning her arms to her side and locking her in place.

"SOTEN!" Shippo rushed forward and was quickly kept a bay by the frosted earth that twisted into a spear shooting from the ground in his direction.

Miyu gasped almost seeming to come from a trance like state at the sound of Shippo's voice.

"MIYU GET BACK!" Shippo directed her and she turned on her heel to run.

As she moved a crystallized fist sprang from the water and came barreling down toward her. She was instantly pushed away when Shippo shoved her forward sparing her from the impact, but leaving himself no time to dodge the hand that flattened him to the muddy floor. It extended it's fingers and clamped down holding Shippo tightly in its grasp.

The hard exterior that gripped him was ice that he could feel stabbing at his skin through his kimono. He wiggled in attempts to reach into his pocket, but the hand squeezed, forcing a disgruntled cry to escape his lungs. With a solid hold on his body the arm retracted yanking Shippo into the water and out a view.

"SHIPPO!" Soten tried to pull herself free but as she struggled she could feel the fabric of her pants ripping and the ice scratching against her armor.

Watching the air bubbles trickle to a stop on the surface of the water, Soten balled her fist and let a spark of lightning bounce from her knuckles. Without holding back she let a flurry of electricity pulsate from her body and they sent a shockwave through the ice binding her. It cracked and shattered leaving her to fall to the ground disoriented but free to move.

"MIYU!" Soten hesitated looking at Miyu who nodded her direction.

"I'm okay," she reassured the thunder demon and without wasting more time Soten bolted for the water diving in and disappearing, unaware of the eyes that looked back at her.

The form of Miyu stood at the river with a smile of pure excitement. It was much too fun to watch the two demons afraid and confused. A stark blue shine glinted in the light of her eyes as she peered into the water to see the girl she so cleverly concealed behind her barrier.

Miyu. The real Miyu.

The last bits of breath escaping her as she fell from consciousness. She wouldn't let her die, it was much too simple of a solution to her problem, she had to prove a point and to do that she needed Miyu alive.

Reaching a hand into the water she retrieved her prize and for a brief moment her transformation faltered leaving the image of Yuri to smile at the unmoving girl breathing shallowly in her arms.

"Don't you worry I could never let you freeze at the hands of that beast, but your friends shouldn't get in the way any more now," with a sneer and shutter from the cold air building around them, Yuri left with one last glance into the water. "It's a shame you'll die thinking she is safe, but at least you can use that thought to put you at ease until she meets you in the afterlife," as she left the stillness returned to the area once again leaving no trace aside from the fading ripples on the water's surface.

Beneath the waves Soten was taken aback by the depth. It seemed unreal how far she had to swim before her vision adjusted to the dim lighting. As she pushed through the murk a large form caught her eye, lunging through the water ahead of her. A demon, about as big as the water demon they fought loomed in the distance with Shippo clinched tight in its fist struggling to hold his breath as his body was jerked around in its grasp. Its movement was swift, using its crystallized body to cut through the water as it propelled itself faster.

Soten moved forward at full force, and as the temperature dropped around her she knew she was gaining ground. But for every foot she gained the demon seemed to adjust it's patterned pushing farther ahead into the seemingly endless abyss it lead her though.

She couldn't keep up with it, so she had to stop it another way.

Gripping Raigekijin she swept it forward and sent a chain of lightning from its blade. Amplified by the water she could feel it ripple through her own body as the demon retched in agony, a single crack splitting on its back where the strike connected. A cloud of air bubble spilled from Shippo's mouth as he failed to hold in his breath at the shocking pain.

Almost instantly, where there was nothing in front of them but water, the floor of the river seemed to suddenly appear with the ice demon falling prone and scrambling to its feet.

Pounding into the sand a layer of frost emanated outward from it fist creating a circle around the demon that slowly started to sink inward pulling in the gravel and water as it folded into itself. Feeling the pull draw her closer Soten pushed another bolt hitting the demon as it made one final blow to the ground completely caving it inward making a whirlpool effect that sucked the river in.

Unable to swim against the sudden current Soten slipped through the hole and found herself falling. Her body flipped around as she tried to steady herself with the water of the river cascading around her. Pieces of rock and debris scratched her arms and the sting of cold air burned her face as it whipped around her.

Then, she hit the floor.

Stirring slightly, the throb at the back of her head made her wince. Slowly leaning forward she heard the crunching of ice as the thin layer that formed across her chipped from her body with every move. She touch the tender area near the nape of her neck and studied her fingers to see the blood staining the tips. Looking down at her body she saw a shallow dusting of snow fall that covered her, numbing her skin. Taking a moment to catch her breath she remembered the creature and shot upright ignoring the lightheadedness from the sudden motion.

"Shippo…" her voice cracked barley squeaking though her chapped lips.

She stumbled, turning onto her stomach and willing her body to get up. Standing on her feet she was finally able to fully survey the area. It looked as though she were in an entirely different world than the riverbank she jumped into. The mounds of snow curled upwards across a vast stretch of hills and mountains, and the once sunny sky was darkened and shrouded in the gray white of an approaching blizzard. Looking directly above she could see a crystal blue circular section missing from the clouds, a rippling portal of water that sat suspended above slowly being obscured by the thickening atmosphere.

Certain that she had found her exit, she refocused herself on finding the missing fox. The ground around her was shrouded in ice, frozen from the water that dropped when they entered this realm from the river. There were pieces of wood from their boat thrown about and a trail of crimson blood spotting the white surface.

"Shippo…" she managed to call out a little louder. struggled to breath with the frigid air stinging her lungs.

The trail lead her to a large divot in the snow that sunk inward a few feet. There were no signs of the demon, but she noticed the size of the blood stains increasing and held her breath for what she would find at the bottom. Looking closer she could see the unmoving clump of snow near the base of the crater's edge. Strands of orange hair peaked from under the flakes and Soten immediately slid down the incline to clear the snow as best she could before the feeling started to leave her hands.

Shippo lay beneath on his chest with his face half pushed into the ground. Flipping him onto his back Soten grabbed his cheeks and shifted his head from side to side. Despite the temperature being far colder that she could remember, Shippo still had a faint warmth to him.

"Shippo...hey Shippo!" she was starting to get some volume back in her voice. "SHIPPO!" she lightly slapped him and he inhaled sharply before immediately going into a coughing fit.

"So-" he couldn't finish his words as he tried to sit upright and paused, placing a hand on his chest and panting.

"You okay?" she looked him over moving his arm and checking his body for any sign of a bleeding wound.

Shippo only nodded and clung to Soten so she could help him up.

"Don't worry that's not mine. I am pretty sure you did some damage to that thing back in the river," he paused looking around, mirroring Soten's earlier confusion. "Where are we?"

"Not completely sure on that one. Looks like we might have followed our little friend through some kind of barrier." She pointed to the opening in the sky and Shippo chuckled.

"Of course…" he mumbled sarcastically under his breath, letting Soten hoist him up the incline so they could make their way over to the barrier in question.

Once again standing in the ice patch of river water and debris, it was clear that the opening was slowly mending. It had shrunk a small portion, but with it being about two hundred feet in the air it was near impossible to try to reach.

"SHIPPO! SOTEN!" they both jumped at the sound of Kohaku's voice echoing in their ears.

"KOHAKU!" Soten yelled back and a distant rumble responded.

"I don't think you should do that," Shippo scanned the horizon and could see no visible threat, but if they kept drawing attention he was sure that would change quickly.

"Shippo, can't you transform?" Soten looked at him expectedly.

"Yeah…"

"Well can't you be like a bird or that weird flying flesh ball you used to turn into?"

"Hey, it wasn't weird," he pouted and crossed his arms. "Anyway, I can't. I won't be strong enough right now to carry us both."

"So then YOU go," Soten sounded like the conclusion should have been obvious, but Shippo frowned.

"No."

"What do you mean, no? You can go up, get help and come back," she protested bumping him with her shoulder so she wouldn't have to expose her hands that she shielded under her armpits.

"I am not leaving you down here by yourself," he huffed unwavering in his determination.

"I ain't some girl you need to protect. I can fend for myself until you get back," she was starting to silently yell, frustrated that he was wasting time.

"No," the one word answer nearly broke her and she squeezed her fists bringing some feeling back into her palms where her nails dug in.

Another rumble interrupted and Shippo could see the faint outline of a figure lurking in the distance.

"We don't have time for this…" he grabbed Soten's wrist pulling it from under her arm and began a slow trudge toward the nearest mountain.

"What are you doing? You're going the wrong way" she struggled, but stopped when Shippo turned pressing a shaking finger to his lips to tell her to be silent.

He pushed her into a nearby rock, wedging her between it and the wall of the mountain. Soten didn't know how to react before he pressed himself against her and scotched her back as far as he could to keep them both hidden. She could feel his breath brush across her face and warm her forehead. Normally she would protest him being so close but his seriousness kept her quiet.

A shadow began to eclipse the dim light illuminating their hiding spot and it grew until is stopped just beyond the opening. Soten gripped her thunder pike, barely feeling the hilt of the sword in her numbing fingertips. Shippo squeezed her free hand and she looked up at him to see the faint glow in his green eyes. He shook his head and she stood down letting the figure lurk away. As it passed Soten felt the hair on the back of her neck stand and she bit her lip as another shadow loomed by. They waited a few more moments and Soten eventually felt Shippo's shoulders relax.

"There are more than one of them," she whispered and he nodded.

"Looks like it," he poked his head out and etched his way back out into the open. "Come here for a sec, I want to see something" he offered her a hand and pulled her free before leaning back down into the crevasse and shifting around the stones lining the bottom.

"What are you doing?" Soten put a foot on Shippo's butt and nudged him. "We have to come up with a plan."

"What do you THINK i'm doing?" He scooped out enough rocks were he completely disappeared into the opening and Soten stared in not sure what he was up to.

When he hadn't resurfaced she leaned closer listening for his movement and he popped out nearly bumping their heads together.

"What are you waiting for come on," he waved her on and she grumbled crawling in behind him to find a hole he dug into the rock. It lead into a much larger cavern and despite it being dark Soten could stand completely upright without feeling cramped.

"What is this place?" She looked around straining to see until the green light of fox fire lit the area.

"I felt a breeze on my leg when we were standing out there, so I kind of thought that there would be a cave opening back here."

"That's great, but why are we here?" she looked at him puzzled and he smiled.

"For shelter why else? I mean we can't stay out in the cold- "

"Would you cut it out!" Soten scolded staring him down coldly. "We can't stay here, we don't have time for this, that barrier is closing-"

"I know what you are going to say and I already told you, I am not leaving you here."

"Shippo we have a job to do, or have you forgotten," Soten stepped to his face and frowned.

"You don't have to remind me. We're here to protect Miyu."

"AND SHE IS UP THERE!" Soten couldn't hold her voice down as she felt the frustration bubbling up all at once.

"WITH KOHAKU AND RIN!" Shippo shouted back before taking a breath to compose himself. "Look we are already split up, you want to break up the party even more...for what?" Shippo didn't back down and returned her glare with one of his own. "If I go and get Miyu what happens next? We bring her into THIS place to come back for you? She would be in more danger here."

"She would be with YOU, and she would be safe. I am not your job, SHE is. And for the last time I DON'T need you to worry about me, I can protect myself."

"I know Miyu is the job here. I understand that, but…" He seemed to faltered pushing back his bangs and inhaling a few times before continuing. "Rin and Kohaku are out there, and they are just as determined as you and I. I TRUST them, I TRUST my friends. I know you don't have a reason to, but I need you to trust them too..." He sighed and stepped closer. "Soten you are strong...but leaving you here alone is a bad idea. And I will NOT have your death on my conscious."

"So i'm going to die on my own now?" she huffed, insulted that he had already counted her defeat.

"I don't know."

"So what makes you think that everything will be fine if we just stay here? How do you know everyone isn't already dead because we're dragging our feet?"

"I don't know that either," He looked at her determined and pressed his hands to her paled cheeks. "All I know is that my gut is telling me to stay here, and I will deal with the consequences of that when they come." He locked eyes with her and leaned down so he stood at the same height level. "Soten I need you to trust me."

She stared back blankly and grit her teeth, finding it hard to push back on his pleading tone. She eventually swat his hands away and frowned.

"Whatever," she grumbled and sauntered off to the far edge of the cave plopping down on the floor and pouting.

"Thank you Soten," Shippo positioned himself at the door and smiled but she didn't acknowledge him.

The few moments of silence turned to minutes and eventually a heavy breeze began to seep its way into the mouth of the cave. From Shippo's position he could see the storm clouds slowly moving toward them. The cold air nipped at his skin and he glanced at Soten who sat stubbornly in the corner watching the frost creep across the rock embedded in the wall. She appeared stoic for a while, but she couldn't hide the shiver that forced a shimmy up her spine.

He stood slipping a hand into his shirt and removed it, exposing his numbing skin to the air. He laid the fabric across the ground and pinched the sleeve ripping a nice strip and placing it to the side. He did the same to the other sleeve and folded the materials into a small square. Placing his hand on the each piece of cloth he left a small leaf resting in the center. Putting his pointer and index finger together he brought them to his lips and whispered to himself.

A puff of smoke erupted around them and neatly folded blankets replaced the small cloths. Picking one up he unfolded it and admired his work. He once again looked to Soten and saw the tip of her pointed ear twitch as she strained to listen to him shuffling about. He grinned scotching closer and spreading the blanket across her.

She tensed, squeezing the blanket in her hand examining it on all sides.

"Peace offering," he nodded and she turned up her nose as she reluctantly bundled herself. "Still mad at me huh?"

"Who said I was mad?" Soten defended lying back down and facing the wall.

"Right..."

She hadn't watched what he did to make them, but she assumed it was one of his fox charms at work. After a few moments, she started getting the feeling back in her fingertips from the extra layer of protection. She could feel her body loosen, but there was still a lingering chill in the air that forced an occasional shiver.

"How long will this magic of yours last?" She interrupted the silence, wondering if her time to warm herself was limited.

"Not sure. I never really timed it before, but the longest I have seen is about ten hours."

She finally looked over her shoulder and noticed that Shippo was wrapping his blanket around his head. He was leaning out of the cavern's opening and once he gave a good look around he stood and prepared to leave.

"Where do ya think your going?"

"I need a few more supplies," his comment was vague, but he seemed determined in his words.

"Then I will come to-"

He held up a hand to stop her.

"I am quieter than you." She frowned at the statement, and he walked closer pulling her blanket tight around her. "Just stay put and take this time to warm up, I will be back quickly I promise," he winked and disappeared under the small opening.

"He is so stupid," Soten grumbled to herself as she tossed the blanket aside and removed the bands securing her armor. "Fine. Let him go alone, it was his idea to stay here anyway, so if he freezes to death that is his problem." She stripped off the heavy metal and re-swaddled herself before returning to her sulking pose of staring at the wall.

She counted the seconds in her head and as she was approaching three hundred twenty, the sound of tumbling rocks broke her concentration. Whipping around she pointed Raigekijin and froze when a tossel of fabric wadded in from the cold. Shaking off the blanket an orange brown fox stared down her blade. It sat in place swishing its tail and cockings its head to the side. Dropping a large bundle of wooden debris to the floor that looked to be wrapped in the clothing Shippo left wearing.

"Shippo?" Soten looked puzzled and the large form popped in a plume of smoke leaving a naked Shippo to shield himself with his tail.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Shrieking Soten kicked him over before turning away and hiding her head under the blanket.

"Sorry," Shippo apologize scratching his head embarrassed. "I can't wear my clothes when I am like that. I didn't really think that through before I left."

She inched over to the other blanket and tossed it to him without turning around. Taking the hint he covered himself before kneeling down to start rummaging through the bundle.

"You shouldn't have gone out there by yourself anyway, weren't you the one talking about not leaving people alone?"

"Were you scared?"

"Shut up," she hissed turning to see Shippo arranging the splintered wood into a pile.

He reached into the pocket of his discarded shirt and pulled out a small object. Grasping it he opened his palm and a flame engulfed the pile, covering it in the greenish light that previously illuminated the room. This flame, had a red colored outline and unlike his normal foxfire, it felt warm.

Soten looked at the fire then back at Shippo who made himself comfortable on the ground after spreading out his clothing. She watched him place the object he held to the floor and quietly reached over to pick it up. Spinning it in her fingers she couldn't figure out what it was. It looked like a vile with a small amount of liquid in the bottom. One end had a silver tip and she could see a small clear tube inside that stopped just shy of the bottom of the container. She shook it and listened to is slosh around but it didn't seem to do anything.

"Haha" Shippo laughed and took it from her hand. "It is called a lighter."

"Lighter?"

"Kagome gave it to me. She used it to make fire all the time, but I found that if I mix it with my fox magic I can make it just a bit more potent. It even gives my fire a little kick," He produced a small flame and flicked it at her letting it gently disperse before it hit her face.

"So that's how you were able to burn that thing earlier," the revelation gave some context to the display she had seen earlier in the day.

"Yep," He stretched his legs in front of him and Soten saw furry fox legs peeking from beneath the blanket. She stared and Shippo snapped his fingers pulling her attention to his face "My eyes are up here you know."

"Yeah, but they are attached to your face and I would rather not look at that," she sneered and pulled a hair from his calf. "I thought you preferred to keep them human now."

"It's warmer this way," Shippo smirked leaning on his elbows and yawning.

"If it is so comfortable in your fox form, then why not just turn back?"

"Cause I wouldn't be able to talk to you that way."

"Who said I want to talk to you?"

"You were the one asking questions" he teased and she growled biting her tongue and refusing to validate him with more words. "What's with you? Why are you always so stubborn?"

"Stubborn?" she frowned. "I am only trying to make sure this whole trip wasn't a waste of time. If Miyu dies what was this all for?"

"But I thought the point of you coming was to prove you`re better than me, or something like that. Is that no longer your plan?"

"Ha, that was the motivation of an idiot. I have since realized that I have nothing to prove to you fox."

"Oh yeah?" he raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"

Soten hesitated and looked at Raigekijin propped in the corner. She could see her tired reflection in the blade staring back at her. She let her gaze rest on her red eyes. The same red eyes that had many different owners and shapes in the past but always stared into the same reflective metal. She hesitated but eventually let a small voice slip from her lips.

"To make sure i'm not a ghost."

Shippo let her words sink in, quietly letting the moment linger before breaking the silence. "You know when I was a kid my dad used to tell me that a ghost can only be seen by people who believe in them." He saw Soten's form visible stiffen at his words and he nudged her shoulder. "You aren't a ghost Soten."

"How do you know?" her normally commanding voice was shadowed by uncertainty but she couldn't stop herself from letting the question slip out.

"Because I don't believe in ghost, so I never see them...but I see you."

Soten looked at him for the first time since their strange conversation began. His fang hung over his bottom lip like it always did whenever he grinned and his ponytail had fallen leaving strands of is hair to dangle in his face. She unexpectedly felt her lips curl upward and eventually a chuckle vibrated from her gut and she turned away trying to calm herself. She didn't know why she was laughing, but as she moved her hand away from her mouth and let the sound escape her unfiltered, there was a sudden wave of relief. When she could control herself enough to breath again she locked eyes with Shippo's now full on smile and held in another giggle.

"You're an idiot you know that?"

"Yep, and you are stuck with me, so you might as well enjoy it."

"Oh, I have gotten more than I anticipate," Soten pulled the blanket over her head and flopped back onto the floor. "Do you miss him?" her smile faded and she looked at the ice shimmering on the ceiling.

"My dad?"

She nodded.

"Everyday."

She nodded again and turned onto her side to face him.

"Goodnight Shippo," she didn't have anything else to say so she let the heaviness of her eyelids do the talking for her.

The words were so organic it almost felt unreal coming from Soten. Shippo let the fuzziness of the gesture pull another grin to his lips and he leaned forward.

"Goodnight Soten."

His words masked the subtle transformation as the enlarged fox form reappeared in his place. Circling to get comfortable he rested just above Soten's head and she peaked her eye open to see his snout perched near her face. Sitting up and covering him with the second blanket, she shifted her body to lie across his stomach. Tucking her face into his fur she revealed in how much warmer it was than the cold floor.

"Shippo?" after a moment Soten broke the silence not bothering to open her eyes as she felt a sharp exhale, she assumed to be his response. "If you turn back in the middle of the night and you are naked, I swear I will punch you so hard in the dick…"

She felt his chest rumble in what was the equivalent of a laugh, before settling in and letting the crackling of the fire put her to sleep. She felt an easiness before she fell asleep, but her dreams were plagued by the weight of day. She nor Shippo knew what would happen next, and she wanted to take his advice and trust him. Because even with all the unknowns, the only thing she was certain of, is that in this moment she was actually glad that Shippo was there.

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 **There you go. I will start working on the next chapter soon. Our group has to get back together.**

 **-EryneBenae**


	11. Chapter 11 - Reunion

**You thought I forgot about this story didn't you? . I didn't, it just takes me longer to write a chapter because I don't have much time, I normally only end up writing a little bit here or there until I get something I think is worth enough to be a chapter. Anyways if you are still reading this I hope you enjoy :)**

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Soten rested her back firmly against the frosted wall of the cave listening for any unexpected movement. After waking up recharged from the day before, she and Shippo wasted no time scouting out the area.

Shippo was able to withstand the cold much longer in his fox form, so he made several trips into the unknown winter tundra to check for openings in the barrier. Like Soten suspected, the entryway they fell through was gone, but the territory was so vast it only made sense that there would be a weak spot somewhere. Finding it was the trouble.

She could hear the wind getting stronger as it whistled through the opening in the rock and right on queue Shippo squeezed into the cave. Shaking off the snow flurries sticking to his fur, he immediately transformed back into his normal human appearance. Flashing Soten a hefty amount of skin before she whipped her head the opposite direction and growled.

"Would you STOP DOING THAT!" she yelled kicking his clothes with the back of her heel so he could find them easily.

"But i'm actually getting quite comfortable being naked around you Soten," he teased as he slipped into his pants and secured them to his waist.

"Please don't. I would prefer not to have a memory of that image." She frowned hoping that he couldn't see the blush on her face from remembering the details she'd already seen from his surprise peep shows. "Have you found anything?" she changed the subject finally turning around once she calmed herself enough to not be flustered.

"Of course I did," he finished adjusting his clothes and motioned for Soten to follow. "There is a cave system not far from here, it looks like it will be our ticket out, but those demons move through it frequently so we need to be careful."

"We are going towards the demons?" Soten grumbled as she followed him into the frigid air beyond the cave.

"Well if those things hunt, then it makes sense that they have to get out of this barrier somewhere. I would assume that it would be in a place they would go often."

"Why not check it out yourself? I mean I thought I was too loud," Soten mocked his earlier reason for making her wait in the cave and he laughed.

"You are loud. Your armor makes you...clinky," He flicked her chest plate with his claw listening to the light pinging sound echo off the surrounding rocks and she frowned. "But, if I have to walk into the lion's den, I would prefer to have the hunter with me."

"Am I the hunter in that situation?" Soten raised a brow and Shippo pat her shoulder excitedly.

"You are the only one here with the armor, big weapon and big attitude to match."

Soten shrugged in agreement, keeping pace with Shippo as they rounded the corner to another cave opening.

Looking down Soten could clearly see remnants of massive footprints that were slowly being covered by a fresh dusting of snow. It looked like it had been a few hours since something came into the cave, but the chilling breeze wafting out from the depths kept her ready for anything they might run into.

Shippo gave her a nod, signaling Soten to stay quiet before leading the way with her in tow. She found herself blindly following him in hopes that he had some idea of where they were going. The innards of the tunnels sent them winding for miles and it was pitch black aside from the small amount of foxfire Shippo used to see just in front of him.

They moved steadily for some distance before Shippo's sudden pause forced Soten to run into his back.

"What?" she whispered seeing Shippo kill his fox fire.

He pointed ahead of them and she crawled forward to get a better look. There was a sharp edge and a steep incline that lead to a large chasm, similar to the one they took shelter in. She could see the glitter of ice bouncing from the walls and a shimmer of a blue light radiating from the base of the area.

The sound of resting growls emanated from the corners of the room, but it was too dark to see. All she could make out was the rising and fall of chests expanding as they took even breaths. There had to be at least four of the large creatures piled into the room sleeping, and at the center of their resting spot, a wave pool similar to the portal that brought them here sat dormant.

"That's our way out," Soten sat back and looked at Shippo concerned. "Can we get past them?"

"Not likely," he responded quickly, like he was expecting the question. "There are too many of them for us to get past unnoticed."

"I'm guessing you have a plan then?"

"Yep, but you won't like it," he pointed upward to the gargantuan ice sickle hanging just above them from the ceiling. "The short version of the plan is to make a run for it and seal off the path by making that fall...into there" he took his extended finger and traced a path down to the pool of water.

"How do you expect to do that?"

"Melt it from the base," his words told Soten all she needed to know about his plan and like he already stated, she did not like it.

"You're planning on going up there alone? What happens when it falls, you'll be stuck."

He put his fingertips to her mouth and hushed her raising voice.

"I'll just melt it enough so it will fall on it's own. You just need to be ready to move," he shifted to stand and Soten gripped his collar.

He looked at her pouting face and pinched her cheek.

"Do you trust me?"

"I don't want to," she pulled his hand away and squeezed the hilt of Raigekijin. "If anything goes wrong we back out."

"Understood," Shippo nodded and jumped from his squatting position beside Soten onto the nearest ledge.

She watched as he skillfully scaled the icey walls and crept over to the large hanging sickle. As soon as she saw the flicker of fire begin to slowly burn away the frost, she inched her way down the incline and moved cautiously toward the pool in the center of the floor.

Stepping lightly over the stones she could hear the drip of the melting ice tapping on the surface of the water. Stopping near the edge she looked up to see Shippo silently working in the shadow of darkness. As he neared halfway through the shard, the sharpened tip chipped and flipped down the wall.

It tumbled and hit the ground with a clank as it impacted and shattered. Soten froze and Shippo held fast listening as the creatures stirred. Waiting for the movement to subside he kept his eyes trained on the blackened figures. When they stilled he let out the breath he was holding and turned back to work. As he reignited his controlled flame, a low growl rang out from behind him.

Turning slowly, the snarling maw of one of the ice demons met his gaze. It's growl turned to a full on roar as it screech a blast of cold air from its lungs chilling Shippo's face. Not seeing an easy way around, Shippo let go of the ice and dropped to the floor below. Landing roughly on his feet he looked up at Soten and down to the pool.

"RUN!" the word left his lips just as the beastly figure flopped down and swung at him.

Jumping out of the way he slid on the ice and fell against the wall. The sleeping demons shook themselves awake stomping and shaking the ground with every step. Soten felt her heart jump as her instincts told her to comply with his order and run, but hearing the demon swing at Shippo again she hesitated.

"SOTEN!" Shippo snapped her from her daze and she looked up to see the shadow of one of the creatures barreling down at her. It smashed the ground and sent needle thin shards ripping into her sides.

Flipping around she parried the claws swiping at her and it ricochet off her blade. She slipped from the impact falling on her stomach. A squeezed fist pounded into her back, crushing her body before rising for another swing. Clenching her teeth and fighting the numbing feeling in her limbs she saw the shadow of another blow coming her way.

Rolling onto her side she felt the sash of her belt snag as the creature pent it down. Raking back its claws across the floor it lifted her into the air dangling her at the hip. Slamming her down the claw dug into her lower back and the sharp pain shot up her spine. Wincing she swung herself about and managed to tear away her sash before it could slam her again. She laid on her back trying to catch her breath and she felt a sharp kick to her side sliding her across the ice and closer to the pool.

Shippo sloppily dodge the creatures as he pulled their attention. She got back to her feet and a crackle drew her gaze above. The thin spider web cracks on the ice shard started to deepen and chunks broke off splashing into the water behind her.

"GO!" Shippo yelled and she chewed her lip.

Defiantly she sent a lightning bolt at the demon advancing toward him and it tumbled forward shrieking as a scorched burn spread across its back when the blast impacted.

"After all the shit you gave me about not leaving people behind, there is no way in hell I am gonna let you die because of some STUPID GOD DAMN DEMONS!" She started grumbling her sentence but as the rage built up, she felt a spark of energy and the moment she pinpoint Shippo's location in the darkness she slammed Raigekijin into the ice and pushed her anger out in a chain of pure white lightning.

The strikes pierced each of the demons, skillfully avoiding the fleeing fox and stunning them as they tensed in pain. In a frenzy the demon closest to her flipped itself around and swiped at her full force slapping her from her concentration and into the air. She slammed into the weakened sickle and it separated from the ceiling with a loud crack. Before she knew it, her body was hitting the cold water below as she struggled to hold what breath remained in her lungs. The shard came down after, thrusting her further into the depths and closer to a familiar pulling feeling.

She felt herself being drawn closer and the chucks of ice pounding at her back pushed her faster. She yelped sending a cloud of bubbles from her mouth as she was dragged through watery portal and once again found herself falling. She tumbled down and slammed into a second pool of water, this one much warmer. She surfaced sucking a lung full of air before glaciers of tumbling ice came hurling after her. Diving to avoid the impact she swam a few inches before skimming the top of the water to see she had fallen into the base of a waterfall.

She felt the heat of the summer sun on her back and immediately knew she had been pushed through the barrier. Looking around she felt her heart racing. Besides herself there was no movement in the water.

"SHIPPO!" she sifted through the ice blocks around her but she couldn't see under the larger pieces.

Pulling herself ashore she paced the edge of the pool and looked on in silence. With her gaze locked on the water, she felt herself counting the seconds again.

"10...11...12...13…" she began to whisper aloud as a splash from the far end of the pond interrupted.

A soggy Shippo flopped onto shore, with his auburn hair dripping down in front of his face and keeping his eyes from view. Soten paced over to his side and he paused taking heavy breaths.

"You...left this…" Shippo spoke through gasps as he held Raigekijin out to her. Grabbing it slowly She stared at it for a moment. She had forgotten that she left it stuck into the ground. Loosening her grip from the hilt she didn't stop to think before letting it fall to the floor in front her and dropping to her knees, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Whoa...did I do something?" he seemed surprised, but he didn't protest.

He would have liked the hug to last longer, but she pulled away and reclaimed her weapon. Using her free hand she slapped him as hard as she could across the face.

"OW!" he grabbed his cheek and let the cool water on his hand soothe the burning on his skin.

"THAT WAS A STUPID PLAN!" she yelled feeling herself shaking with a mix of relief and anger. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE STUCK BACK THERE!"

"I'm sorry". Shippo smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It was stupid…"

She nodded in agreement before slapping his other cheek, softer this time, and pulling him into another hug. He sat quiet for a few seconds and slowly wrapped his own arms across her back.

Soten remembered the last time he hugged her. The night of the festival. She was facing away from him then, but she could still feel how warm he was. This time felt different. His body still seemed to give off an abnormal, but pleasant, heat that she found soothing, but now she could bury her face in the crook of his neck and absorb the scent of earth and pine needles he always gave off. She felt his arm stretch across her, and a sting of pain shot up her spine where the demons had slammed her down. She couldn't tell if he noticed, but he didn't say anything if he did.

"...Am I interrupting?" A cool voice made both their heads snap around.

"Miroku?" Shippo gawked at the smiling face and Soten jumped pushing herself a further distance from Shippo.

"Looks like my hunch was right, the demons in these mountains **were** the ones causing trouble."

"Trouble?" Shippo didn't seem to comprehend what was being said and the monk shook his head.

"How rude of me...your friend sent me to find you. She was worried sick after you were attacked on the river, but I see you had ' _other_ ' things to worry about" He smirked and gave them a suggestive wink. "You know Shippo, I know a thing or two about a girl slapping you after you hug her. You might need a bit more practice in the ways of romance. I could teach you."

She shied away at the monks words unable to make eye contact and Shippo rubbed his neck embarrassed.

"Uh...we were…" He fumbled for what to say that wouldn't excite the overactive imagination of the pervy monk, but there was no other way to explain that they were hugging.

"You found them?" Another voice from the bushes caused a much needed distraction.

A tall muscular frame stepped from the brush and Souten could see a man with a long ponytail swaying down his back that gave way to a fluffy brown tail that hung from the hem of his fur loincloth. She had never seen him before, but he was unmistakably a wolf demon.

"Koga, you too?" Shippo's eyes showed a spark of recognition and he almost looked flattered that the wolf was looking for them.

"Well this IS my territory runt," he huffed looking slightly annoyed. "The monk here showed up a couple days ago and said you guys were probably around here. I couldn't stand by and let you turn up dead. I would never hear the end of it from that mutt, and I wouldn't want to break Kagome's heart."

"Well thanks anyway...even if you did it for your own selfish reasons" Shippo grumbled the last part but stood and shook some of the water from his clothes.

"Let's get back, I don't want everyone to worry" Koga turned and started back the way he came, leaving them to catch up.

"Miss," Miroku knelt extending a gentle hand to Soten and she stared at him blankly.

The monk looked far more distinguished now, with a nice blanket of neatly trimmed facial hair covering the fine lines of age starting to creep into his face. He was by no means an 'old' man, but in terms of human age he was well established into his life. Judging by his unassuming smile, she imagined that he didn't recognize who she was, but he waited patiently for her to accept his offer and reluctantly she grasped his palm to lift herself up.

"Ah such delicate hands for such a fearsome beauty". To her surprise he quickly encapsulated her grip in his own and stroked the back of her knuckles lightly. "Such a lovely-"

He speech was cut short by Shippo planting a foot on his back and lightly pressing down so his head bowed straight down to look at the dirt.

"Miroku!" He crossed his arms. "Do I have to tell Sango that you are misbehaving again?"

"Why there is no need for that...I was just...helping her up is all" The monk shimmed upright and pulled Soten to her feet. "See," he released her and awkwardly pat her head.

"Right…" Shippo side eyed him and pulled him along by the robes letting the monk pout as he was lead away.

It took them close to an hour to make their way to the wolf's den. As they circled around the mountain pass, they navigated through smaller waterways that broke into shorter waterfalls. Eventually Soten began to see some similarities to the area they had been when their boat crashed. They were much farther up the mountain this time, but the trees and foliage were beginning to give her flashbacks to the attack on the river.

Their path soon lead them away from the water's edge and into a denser tuft of trees that gave way to a rocky clearing. It opened into a the mouth of a stone cave carved into the mountain side. The unmistakable scent of wolves wafted from within and before they could make it close to the entrance a pair from the pack came out and perched at Koga's side.

"You guys been holding down the fort while I was gone?" He spoke to them as he pat their head and they responded with low ruffs and growls that Koga seemed to understand.

Koga nodded to the wolves and waved them all inside. When they stepped in Soten was happy to see that it was well lit, she had spent enough time in dark caves over the past couple days. Near the back of the opening she could see a red head woman perched comfortable on a bed of furs and hay. She had a child wrapped and asleep in her arms and she smiled as a familiar voice rang from her side.

"I'm sure everything is fine" the red head seemed to be agreeing with the conversation she was engaged in and after taking a few steps closer Soten confirmed her earlier thought.

Beside the woman Miyu sat with a wolf child perched on her lap as she bounced him gently on her knee. The older woman's attention was quickly drawn to the approaching party and she grinned at Koga before the child on Miyu's lap sprang forward and lept into the wolf demon's arms.

"SHIPPO! SOTEN!" without warning Miyu followed shortly behind the child and gripped Soten into a tight bear hug.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? LET GO!" She fidgeted not expecting Miyu's affection, but the sobs the girl let out swiftly calmed her protest. Soten could feel her tears staining her shirt and she looked wide eyed to Shippo, who only smiled at her.

"I thought...you guys were dead...I was so scared," She spoke though broken words and Shippo nodded.

Taking the hint Soten pat Miyu's back awkwardly and she cuddled into her armor until she was able to breath without crying. She looked up and shifted her hug to Shippo and he fluffed her hair.

"We're all right Miyu," he reassured her and she nodded. "Are you okay?" She nodded again and he laughed. "Thank you Koga," He looked to wolf who cradled the child at his side.

"Don't thank me, Ayame was the one who kept an eye on her." With the mention of her name the woman from earlier kissed his cheek.

"It was no trouble at all," Ayame smiled and Miyu bowed.

"Thank You."

"Alright" Koga intervened. "Now I am gonna need you all to kindly vacate my cave. I got enough to worry about with the pups and the rest of the pack, can't really look out for all you guys too."

"Aw, but Koga I am all grown up now, no need to babysit," Shippo teased earning a scoff from the wolf.

"Oh please, you'll always be a kid to me Shippo, and Miroku over there will always be...Miroku," he cut Miroku a glare as the monk clasped Miyu's hand comfortingly.

"What?" Miroku spoke up in defense and Shippo and Koga could only laugh.

After they got a send off from the wolves they agreed that it would be best to regroup at Kaede's Village. Since they all got separated so close by, it made sense that Rin and Kohaku might go there to search for them.

As they descended down the mountain Miyu retold what happened to Soten and Shippo. Shippo gripped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a slight squeeze to help her fight back the tears that were once again forming in her eyes.

"Sorry Miyu," He apologized softly and she shook off his words.

"I'm just happy I found you guys."

"You shouldn't have been lost," Soten spoke up. "We ran into Yuri before, we were stupid to let our guard down like that. She spoke right to us and we didn't even notice that is wasn't you."

"How could you? Those demons attacking and then Rin and Kohaku getting separated," Miyu defended, but saddened at the mention of their missing party. "...I hope the're alright."

"I'm sure they are," Miroku stepped up to walk beside her. "Kohaku is family and he is most certainly capable."

"We'll find them, and we won't let this happen again. I promise Miyu," Shippo reassured her and she let her smile brighten.

Soten let them move in front of her to hide the sinking expression she couldn't seem to wipe from her face. Miyu's story left a knot in her stomach and every time she thought of what could have happened if Miroku hadn't shown up she felt worse.

The walk to the village took them to near sunset. By the time the small wooden houses appeared in the distance, they were all beginning to feel heavy with the weight of the long travel dragging their feet.

Despite it getting dark, the streets were still rather lively with people finishing their chores for the day. A few nodded a salute to Miroku and Shippo, and they both waved back with a smile. Soten could feel herself wanting to fade away. The people were all strangers yet she felt she was being judged, so when the buildings became less dense, a sense of relief washed over her. They made their way to a small hut near the edge of town and impatient footsteps clopped up the road to greet them.

"FATHER!" Two small identical girls wrapped around each of Miroku's legs and he dragged his feet, sliding them along as he moved. A smaller toddler clumsily waddled up behind them and tried to squeeze in, but Miroku lifted him into his arms.

"Who are all these strange children," he joked as the girls peaked to look back at everyone coming up the path.

"Uncle Shippo," they moved their hug to the fox.

"Wow you guys just keep growing don't you?" he looked them over and they pouted.

"Are you calling us fat?" they asked in unison and Shippo raised a brow.

"Aren't you guys too young to ask that?"

"Mom says that you are never too young to keep boys in check, because they will continue to do stupid things even into adulthood."

"Smart lady," Soten mumbled and the girls seemed to notice her for the first time.

"We've never seen you before...are you Shippo's friend?"

"...Friend is...a little…" she fumbled on her words struggling to organize her thoughts.

"Judging from what I saw today, they are VERY close," Miroku gave a sly chuckle and Shippo kicked his leg.

"What happened today?" Miyu looked interested seeing the flustered glance Shippo gave Soten and the pink starting to cover his face.

"NOTHING!" She blurted out angrily and Miyu gave her a questioning stare. "I..yeah we are friends" Soten turned to the twins, begrudgingly acknowledging their comment hoping the conversation would be dropped.

"What happened?" Miyu turned to Miroku knowing he would likely be willing to talk, but he was silenced by a woman emerging from the hut.

"Look who we have here," The woman strolled down to them with a baby strapped tightly to her chest, her long brown hair pulled back into a low loose ponytail that framed her face, still slightly plump from the weight of pregnancy. The toddler in Miroku's arms reached to her and Soten immediately knew who she was.

Sango. The fearless demon slayer and wife of the nosy monk. She secured the older toddler to her waist, expertly able to hold him without disturbing the newborn swaddled to her body. She smiled and Shippo planted a greeting smooch to her cheek.

"Sango it's been a long time," he pulled back the blanket and peaked at the baby. "Number 4 huh?"

She nodded laughing and Miroku hugged her to his chest.

"Of course and there will be plenty more."

Sango sighed and it was Shippo's turn to laugh.

"Where **do** you find the time Miroku?"

"Ah Shippo, when you find the one that's special, you will learn to find the time."

"So all your flirting today was just...perks," Shippo gave a devilish grin and Miroku tensed.

"Flirting, hmmm?" Sango questioned with a smile still plastered eerily across her lips.

"No, no just nice gestures that's all," Miroku defended and she shook her head.

"Of course they were," Sango pinched his ear and tugged. "Are you all hungry?" She ignored Miroku's whining as she reprimanded him like a child, making the twins chuckle.

"We couldn't intrude," Miyu bowed thankful but didn't feel right accepting more kindness from strangers.

"Nonsense, we normally have more than we need, there are so many of us." She let go of Miroku and he rubbed the tiny red mark on his ear.

"We would really love to have you guys," Miroku spoke up and Sango exchanged the ear tugging for a light hearted pinch to his cheek.

"And I want **you** to behave," she scolded and he feigned offense.

"Why Sango, I always behave," he nuzzled her and put an arm around her shoulder, escorting her back to their home placed on the hill.

Sango had prepared a hearty vegetable stew that she passed around with a serving of rice. She didn't exaggerate when she said they would have extra. There was still plenty left in the pot, even after Miroku had an eating contest with the twins.

Everyone filled their stomachs, but Soten found herself staring at her bowl while the house came to life around her. The twins were learning tips about their hair from Miyu and Miroku laid stretched across the floor playing with his older son while Sango fed their newborn. A light tap drew her attention and she glanced up to see Shippo gesturing her to follow him before he disappeared outside.

She would normally question him before agreeing, but it sounded like a good idea to get some fresh air. She slid through the doorway without anyone seeming to notice, or care, and trotted after Shippo who had started up the path. The last bit of sun was disappearing behind the horizon and the orange reds of the evening were beginning to give way to deep blues and purples decorated with stars that dotted every inch of the sky.

She eventually caught up to Shippo who slowed pace as he waited.

"What?" she gruffed waiting for an explanation for his spur of the moment excursion.

"I want to take you somewhere," he spoke plainly and continued onward, using the emerging moonlight to navigate their route.

"Where?" she continued to prod.

"Does it matter?"

"Kinda"

"...Just come with me" he looked genuine and Soten stopped arguing.

They walked quietly for a while before they made it back to the main road, now empty and silent with the dim glow of family fires crackling inside huts.

"Can I ask you something?" Shippo's question seemed random, but Soten felt it lingering in the air for a while. She didn't say anything, but her silence was answer enough. He stopped and looked her in the eyes, "What am I to you?"

"...What does that even mean?" She hesitated unsure how to go about an answer.

"Earlier, when the girls asked you if we were friends, you didn't want to answer...if we're not friends then what are we?" she was quiet not expecting him to care so much over such a stupid thing. "Soten...I know you agreed to do this job because you had your own agenda. I don't really understand what that was, and I will understand if you still don't trust us, but…" he hesitated. "I just want to know where you stand."

"With everyone...or you?"

"Both"

She chewed her lip and stared down at her shoes. "Why does it even matter? Will it change anything?"

"I just want to know, because I- " he swallowed his words and thought for a moment. "Because we have gone through a lot lately, all of us, and I guess I hoped that when it's all over, it won't just go back to the way it was...before."

"Was it so bad before, I mean look at this place." She looked to all the cozy house with shadows of the people nestled inside dancing across the fire light. "People know you, they smile at you. Wave. You HAVE friends."

"But I could always have more," she froze letting his words sink in.

She thought for a moment, about everyone. Rin, Kohaku, Miyu and Shippo. They were certainly not strangers anymore, but they were colleagues. This was a job, he said it himself, they were all here because they had their own agenda right? She let herself forget that a few times, but seeing the result of letting her guard down, she knew that she had to refocus on her goal, but she didn't know what that was anymore.

Originally she had aimed to feed her grudge against Shippo, yet that seemed pointless now. She had already decided that Shippo was no longer an enemy, he was something different, but would she call him a friend?

"I…" She started and looked at him apologetically. "I don't know," his sharp green eyes seemed to dull a bit. He nodded and cracked a weak smile.

"Okay…" he didn't say anything else before he turned to continue up the path.

Soten squeezed her fingers into a fist at her side, letting her nails dig into her skin as they continued to walk in an awkward silence. She felt like she had just done something wrong. All he did was ask a question and she answered him truthfully, but she couldn't stop the words from burning her tongue as they came out.

"Ask me again..." she blurted to his back and he paused to look over his shoulder. "When this is done and Miyu is safe, can you ask me again?"

"Will you be able to answer then?"

"...I don't know" she never broke her gaze from his face and when she saw another smile curl his lips, she slowly moved up beside him.

"Okay," he nodded and Soten felt a small wave of relief lighten her shoulders, before it was replaced with the weariness of the day.

"Can we go back now?" she hugged her arms feeling the chill of the night air.

"No," his answer shocked her, but his hand pressing into her lower back caused a scream to escape her throat.

"AH!" the pain she had been fighting from the battle with the ice demons shot through her body and she huddled forward.

"We are going to see someone about that wound first," he chuckled lightly and Soten was sure he was getting payback for their conversation.

She barely noticed that they had stopped in front of a hut near the edge of shrine steps. It was old and there had been various repairs patched into it, making the wood change colors. From the doorway a woman peered outside supporting her stomach swollen with child, while a hand rested across the watermelon sized lump. Her long black locks hung past her mid back and she squinting her brown eyes as her lips thinned into a smile.

"Kagome," Shippo wasted no time wrapping arms around her neck and squeezing, being mindful of her belly.

"You brought me a guest," Kagome glanced back at Soten and stepped up to her. "Look how much you have grown," she touched the thunder demon's cheeks and they reddened.

"You remember me?" Soten gaped at the thought and only got a gentle laugh from the priestess.

"Of course I do. Who could forget a face that cute," she winked and waved them both inside. "Come on in, let's have a look at you."

Soten grumbled walking past a chuckling Shippo. It was times like this when she struggled to completely understand him. He was so serious a moment ago, and now he seemed thrilled at the idea of teasing her. It made her wonder to think if things would be different if she let herself be as carefree as Shippo was. It would be nice, but it was just a thought.

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 **There you go another chapter for your enjoyment. It was a bit short, but this felt like a good place to stop. Next time we get Rin and Kohaku back and then it is on with the shenanigans and adventures.**

 **Thanks for the read and feel free to leave a comment, critique or review I would love to read them.**

 **Until Next Time :)**

 **-ErynBenae**


	12. Chapter 12 - Riverside Revelations

**I was going to release this on Christmas, but it still needed work, so...late holiday gift I suppose, hope you guys had a good one. I feel like this chapter is shorter than normal, but then again I am up at 12AM writing it for some reason...you can stop listening to me babble now go read the chapter.**

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Rin felt her ankle throb as she and Kohaku descended down the last stretch of mountain road. They set out from the inn as soon as they were able, but it took them over a day to make it anywhere near Kaede's village. Rin blamed herself, she moved much slower on her damaged leg, but she refused to let Kohaku carry her after seeing what their river encounter had done to him.

As he changed she got a clear view of the gashes decorating his body. The river rocks had ripped into the flesh leaving reddened wounds that he covered haphazardly himself. He assured her that he was okay but she didn't believe him, and if he could stomach his wounds to make her feel better then she could do the same for him. Unfortunately her leg was far more cumbersome than his cuts, so they had to stop often to rest.

They were taking a break near the roadside when Rin started to notice the red speckle seeping through her bandage. The crimson blood spread slowly and the sting of pain intensified as she gently ran her finger across it. Not wanting to alarm Kohaku, who sat with his back against the rock dozing in the sunlight, she calmly flipped open her pack and rummaged around for extra bandages. She spotted the white fabric lining the bottom, covered with Shippo's trinkets that Kohaku collected by the river. She wiggled the cloth free but wasn't fast enough to catch the toy top that tumbled from the opening and bounced off her knee.

She dove for it, but it flicked off her finger and skid across the dirt, bumping into a pair of muddy sandals that she hadn't noticed before. Following the legs upward Rin felt her heart jump a few beats. The girl standing there seemed to come out of nowhere, but besides being unexpectedly quiet, she didn't look threatening. She had short trimmed orange red hair cut in a bob style that framed her face. Purple eyes that squinted with her smile and a turquoise kimono that hugged her snuggly. She bent down coyly and pinched the top between her fingers grinning wider as she tossed it and closed her palm around it.

"I know this top," she looked to Rin and winked. "Who might you be holding on to Shippo's toys?"

"You approached me, shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Rin shot back and the woman chuckled.

"Haha forgive me," she place the toy back in Rin's hands. "I can forget myself sometime. I'm Kiyara" she turned to sway a few steps away and Rin noticed her tail for the first time.

"You're a kitsune?" she sounded more surprised than she should have, but Kiyara only laughed.

"I am," The woman perked flipping her tail. "And you seem to be hurt lovely" she kneeled in front of Rin and reached for her ankle.

Rin tugged her leg back and immediately regretted it, wincing from the sudden moment.

"I'm sorry, I won't touch," Kiyara threw up her hands and perched happily on the bolder across from Rin, freezing when she noticed Kohaku. "OH MY!" she jumped, her tail hairs standing upright "Where did he come from?"

Kohaku sat up quickly alarmed by her outburst, drawing his dagger and swinging it around until he locked eyes with her, pointing the sharpened end at her throat and taking a defensive stance.

"Oh stop it" Kiyara pouted and pushed the dagger back with her pointer finger.

"Who are you?" he looked at her dumbfounded and she sneered.

"I'm Kiyara," she stated again and he looked at Rin who only shrugged.

"She seems to know Shippo," Kiyara nodded to Rin's statement and Kohaku dropped is blade.

"I was going to pay him a visit, but then I saw this little lamby in distress and I stopped to see if I could help."

As Kiyara gestured to Rin's bleeding ankle, she crossed her leg to hide it from Kohaku.

"Rin," Kokahu was at her side in an instant and cradled her leg despite her protests.

"It's fine really," she grumbled, but he wouldn't let go until she allowed him to clean and dress the wound.

"You know if you would just carry her like a man-" Kiyara spoke under her breath and Kohaku reddened.

"She won't let me," he defended and it was Rin's turn to be flustered.

"You are hurt too, why would I let you?" She poked at his rib and he grimaced.

"Alright, alright I get it," Kiyara silenced their spat. "But you know sometimes boys need to feel...needed or it hurts their ego," she winked at Rin again and Kohaku's cheeks deepened. "Might you two be heading in the direction where I can find our little fox friend?"

"We are hoping so, but we kind of lost him," Kohaku responded, happy to change the subject.

"Lost him? He is a grown man, is he not?" Kiyara raised a brow.

"We were separated and we're not sure, but we think he might be in the village nearby," Rin spoke sadly remembering the events on the river, telling Kiyara everything and completely throwing her caution of the woman out the window.

"Well then, why are we still waiting here?" Kiyara rose and dusted her Kimono. "Let us go and see if we can find him." Kiyara squat down in front of Rin and she hesitated. "Come on lamby lamb, I can carry you no problem."

"Well I can-" Kohaku began but was quickly silenced but the stranger.

"No" she spoke firmly and shot him a glare. "She has already said that she doesn't want to cause you more injury. She is being gallant, so honor her, and respect her request."

Kohaku looked stunned but didn't argue after Rin accepted the Kiyara's offer and had a much easier time moving holding on to her back.

They eventually made it to the outskirts of the village and Kohaku let muscle memory guide him through the busy streets. He immediately made his way toward the small hut perched near the bottom of the shrine steps. Besides Rin, Kagome was the only other person he knew of who would be able to treat them both properly and as he approached the woman in question was standing outside hanging fresh linens on a line to dry. She stopped to rub her protruding belly as her helpers continued to work in her stead.

Soten and Miyu each carried around a basket and followed Kagome's lead in attaching the cloth to the lines so they wouldn't blow away. Kagome was the first to spot Kohaku from a far and Miyu noticed soon after, dropping the basket and bolting for him.

"KOHAKU!" she excitedly plowed into him squeezing him in her grip.

"Miyu," he grunted through the strain of her hug pressing against his bruises, but he returned her affection with a snuggle of his own.

She noticed Rin on Kiyara's back and hesitated.

"It's okay Miyu she is a friend," Rin assured her as Kiyara's tail flicked behind her.

"Don't worry I won't bite," Kiyara grinned and the toothy smugness gave Miyu flashes of Shippo.

"Are you okay Rin?" Miyu still approached cautiously and grabbing Rin's hand.

"I'm fine," Rin sounded as chipper as always, pulling a smile from Miyu. "I will have a few scars, but there is nothing too bad."

"I think we are all walking away with some scars," Miyu looked back at Soten who now sat beside Kagome to take the strain from her bruised back. She hadn't noticed that Soten was hurt until she found her and Shippo with Kagome earlier in the morning recovering.

Kiyara let Rin down from her back and Miyu helped her over to Kagome with Kohaku following closely behind.

"Rin," the priestess smiled gently as Rin hobbled up to her. She immediately lean forward to examine her bleeding leg holding her stomach in attempts to make herself feel lighter.

"It's really nothing Kagome, just a scratch," Rin eased her upright, not wanting to see the pregnant woman strain for her sake.

"We should take a look at it anyways, just to be safe," Kagome stood and waddled into the hut, leaving her seat free for Rin to plop besides Soten. Kagome reemerged with a basket of ointments and bandages tucked under her arm. Soten relieved her seat and sat on the grass watching as Kagome skillfully applied medicine to the wound.

"Please look at Kohaku too," Rin pleaded as Kagome laid a layer of cloth to seal the treatment. The woman only laughed lightly to herself and smiled, but Rin relaxed taking her response as acknowledgement.

"You guys made a new friend huh?" Soten gestured toward Kiyara, who took jabs at Kohaku's sides, irritating his cuts and forcing him slowly toward the hut.

"Not us, apparently she is Shippo's friend," Rin pointed to her tail and Soten felt a shudder hit her shoulders. "We ran into her up the road, she said she was going to pay him a visit."

"Great, just what we need another fox," Soten pouted but kept an eye trained on the second kitsune.

Kagome's head perked in interest just as the stranger approached, leaving Kohaku rubbing his sides as she scolded him for attempting to avoid treatment.

"Here is another for you to look at herb woman," Kiyara spoke triumphant in getting the demon slayer to submit.

"It's seriously not that bad, it only hurts because you poked them," Kohaku grumbled but reluctantly sat and awaited his turn for Kagome's attention.

"Herb woman is one I have never heard before," Kagome laughed as she finished Rin's bandage.

"Sorry, I am not really from around here," Kiyara apologize, bowing to Kagome politely. "I am Kiyara."

"Kagome," she replied with a small bow of her own. "You are Shippo's friend I hear?"

"Yep, and I am here to see that lying fox," she pouted.

"Ha, well I guess you came to the right place, though I don't know how much use it will be right now, he hasn't been able to get out of bed all day," Soten mumbled and Kiyara's frown visible turned to horror.

"Really," she gasped looking at the battered group and only imagining an image of something much worse for him to be bedridden.

"You can see him yourself if you want, he is right inside," Kagome pointed to the door and Kiyara wasted no time bolting inside.

"Is Shippo really that bad?" Kohaku furrowed a brow, concerned but Soten only scoffed.

"He's just being dramatic," she huffed earning a giggle from Kagome.

"He caught himself a nasty cold, but he should be fine," the priestess smothered another laugh as she switched to helping Kohaku peel away his tattered slayer uniform to examine his cuts. After treating Kohaku, Kagome insisted that they retire inside. As they entered they found Kiyara clinging to a sleepy eyed Shippo. He now sat upright in the corner of the room trying halfheartedly to push the other Kitsune away.

"Who brought you here?" He whined and Kiyara swatted his head.

"I DON'T NEED TO BE BROUGHT ANYWHERE!" she finally let him go just in time for him to cough into his sleeve. "I came to get you, you left without saying anything...or do you not remember?"

"Maybe I just didn't tell you."

"Look I don't mean to interrupt...whatever this is, but who is she?" Soten wedged herself into the conversation, slightly annoyed that the kitsune were too busy arguing to even acknowledge everyone entering.

"How rude of me again, I don't think I introduced myself to you outside. I am Kiyara," she bowed to Soten with a smile. "Shippo was apart of my training group, but the lier said he was going to talk with our master and never came back. So I came here to find him."

"The old man doesn't own me, and neither do you," Shippo sucked the phlegm back into his nose just in time for Kiyara to land a nice kick to his leg.

"So you make a habit of pissing people off then?" Soten rolled her eyes and Shippo pouted.

"Don't take her side in this Soten you are supposed to be my teammate remember?"

"What kind of teammate leaves one team for another?" Kiyara kicked again and Shippo tugged her tail forcing her to fall onto her butt.

"You guys were training buddies, not a team there is a difference you know."

"Maybe we should give Shippo a chance to explain himself, Kohaku interjected and Shippo nodded.

"Thank you Kohaku."

"So what's the story?" Soten grumbled and Shippo gave a stupid grin.

"Doing this mission sounded like more fun so I bailed on training and came here."

"YOU REALLY ARE THE WORST AREN'T YOU!" Soten shrieked and and Shippo stuck out his tongue.

They went on arguing for a while longer and Rin inched near Kagome tugging lightly at her kimono to get her attention. She motioned with her eyes for Kagome to follow and they snuck away into the storeroom unnoticed.

"That is certainly something new. Shippo never brings training buddies by," Kagome broke the silence with small talk as she dug out a box of tea, handing the pouch to Rin and looking her in the eye. "So what's wrong?"

"I just…" Rin stumbled and took a moment to compose her thoughts. "Kagome, when you started traveling with Inuyasha, did you ever feel like you caused more troubled than you helped?"

"All the time," Kagome answered with a smile and pat Rin's shoulder. "I was never as strong as Inuyasha or Miroku or Sango, I had to learn A LOT when I first came here."

"But you're a priestess, it was easy for you right?...I mean if you were just a normal human-" Rin let her voice trail to nothing and looked down at her freshly bandaged ankle.

"You would be surprised at what humans can do, even the ones without demon slayer training or sacred powers. Can I ask where this is coming from?"

"We messed up…" Rin began looking solemnly to the priestess. "We were supposed to be protecting someone, just like you guys used to, but I feel like we weren't prepared."

"Do you think that WE were ever prepared? Most days we were just diving headfirst into whatever the problem was and figuring it out as we went along."

"But we got separated, we almost lost Miyu, we could have lost each other. And I...couldn't do anything against that demon. Even if Kohaku and I didn't get swept up river, I would have just needed someone to save me...like I always have." Rin thought about her years with Sesshomaru and how she could always trust that he would be there to protect her, yet now that her role is reversed it was clear that she could do very little for others on her own.

"Inuyasha still saves me all the time," Kagome smiled. "We fight battles we can win and some we probably should have died in, but we fight them together. That's why you have Kohaku, Shippo and Soten. They will fill in the blanks where you can't, but you should always push to get stronger, so you can fill in the spots that THEY can't."

"Could you teach me?" Rin suddenly found her voice encouraged by the older woman's words. "Could you teach me to shoot a bow and arrow? I know that it won't be like yours, and I don't have sacred powers, but I want to learn so I can be stronger. Just like you did."

Kagome's smile brightened and she turned to move some boxes on the back shelf. She emerged with an old wooden bow. Despite the shelf being covered in dust the polished wood still had a healthy shine and it curved smoothly, held together with a tightly pulled bow string. She held it out and Rin gripped it carefully in her hands.

"Inuyasha, says that he would prefer me to sit out any future fights while I am carrying around another little body," she rubbed her stomach and laughed. "So I think this will do well in your hands."

"Kagome, I couldn't," Rin looked it over closely, recognizing quickly that the bow was the same one that Kagome used against Naraku.

"Why not?" She pushed it back in Rin's grasp. "It's not doing much good in this storeroom. It's gotten me through some tough spots. I am sure it will do the same for you. For now though, you should stay off that foot. I can give you a crash course tomorrow."

Rin nodded gripping tighter to the bow and feeling a wave of excitement fill her. If Kagome's words were true then she knew this was something that she had to do and she was ready to learn.

After a short while, Kagome entered the hut and found Kiyara trying to get Shippo to eat as he pushed the bowl away. Soten scowled in the corner and Kohaku seemed to tell her something in a hushed voice that made her crack a smile. He noted Kagome's arrival and glanced behind her to see that Rin wasn't with her. His joking smile faded slightly and his mind wandered to Rin's behavior earlier in the day. She didn't seem like her normal self and it was unusual for her to be so insistent on not accepting help, especially from him.

The older woman perched herself near the small hearth in the center of the room getting comfortable and helping herself to a bowl of stew brewing in the pot. She slurped a hefty mouthful as a light tap brush her shoulder. Looking over Kohaku had scotched closer, resting beside her so he could talk without having to raise his voice over Soten and Kiyara's bickering about whether or not they should force feed Shippo.

"Kagome?" he whispered, but she heard him well enough, smiling back without a word. "Where did Rin go?"

"She said she was going to soak her ankle in the river. It was still a bit swollen and I think she has had enough excitement for the day," she gestured to the rowdy demons before scooping another spoonful of stew into a fresh bowl and handing it to him. "Why don't you bring her this. I don't think she's eaten anything."

Kohaku nodded, willingly taking the food and secretly thanking Kagome for the reason to excuse himself. The cool dusk air brushed his face as he left the hut and fireflies blinked in and out of existence around him the further he walked from the village. The dirt path started to squish slightly under his feet as the sound of the waking crickets was drowned by the steady beating of water.

It didn't take him long to find Rin. She had a spot that she liked to visit just upstream. It was quiet, and he normally found her there when she wanted to think. She had started a small fire and kept it low enough to warm her without being clearly noticeable. Her feet were stretched out in front of her and she leaned back on her elbows watching a ladybug crawl across her stomach.

"I thought I would find you here," he sat the soup on the ground beside her and plopped down.

"Kagome told you where to find me?" she grinned shaking the bug from her kimono and watching it fly into the bushes.

"She told me you were near the river, but I knew this was where you would be," he handed her the bowl and she accepted, sipping the liquid timidly before setting it aside again. He followed her lead stretching his legs and bumping the bow Rin had perched on the tree. He leaned forward looking at the weapon and turned a questioning look to Rin. "A bow?"

"Kagome is teaching me...well she will be."

"You want to learn how to shoot?" he seemed puzzled and Rin pouted.

"Yeah, why not? Your a slayer, Shippo has his magic and Soten can swing that blade of hers like it is a part of her arm...I just wanted to make sure I can keep up."

Kohaku laughed slightly and Rin frowned.

"Something funny?"

"It's not you," he defended easing the irritation from her glare. "It's just sometimes I wonder if I even want to keep up. I've done the fighting thing once before and I ended up dead and controlled by a demon."

"But you still continued to train and fight, because when you are strong you can protect the ones you care about."

"Is that what has been bothering you?"

"Why does there have to be something bothering me for me to want to learn how to fight?" Rin wouldn't look at him, choosing instead to stare at her shoes.

"There doesn't have to be, but there is...I can tell…"

"Kohaku we lost control of that situation on the river SO fast," she spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Miyu could have gotten hurt, we all could have gotten hurt, and none of us even noticed what was going on until it was too late. I couldn't do anything but be a burden and that doesn't feel very good."

"Rin you shouldn't feel like you're a burden."

"Please don't tell me how to feel," she chuckled the words, bothered by the thought that Kohaku didn't trust her with herself. "I know you don't want me to feel bad, but you can't keep protecting me from myself."

"I'm not-"

"Really?" Rin questioned. "At the healers hut and at the inn, I did something that bugged you and you won't even tell me what it was, because you don't think I can handle it don't you?" she scoffed the question, and Kohaku visible tensed.

"That was different," he defended, knowing that it was his own fears that kept him from telling her the details of that night. "You had taken that herb, and it made you loopy."

"Even if I was, don't you think I can handle something I said," Rin rubbed her temples and growled. "I feel like everybody always assumes that I can't handle something. That just because I am nice and...weak, that I need to be protected from everything including myself. I think if I can handle anything, it would be my own feelings…" Rin's raised voice trickled low and she whipped the tears forming in her eyes.

"Rin you aren't weak...you are **so** far from weak," Kohaku sounded pained and he tried to catch her gaze but her eyes were trained on the tear stains spotting the dirt beneath her. "I didn't tell you about that day because…" he hesitated. "...In truth I am weaker than you, and I was scared," she finally looked up at him and it was his turn to look away.

"When I found you by the river that day you were nearly unconscious, but you hugged me...and you told me that you loved me," he let the words quiver from his lips, but even with the sound of the water beside them it sounded to him, like he had yelled them. "I was so happy and then we kissed, which isn't that weird, but I wanted it to be more. And I started t-to touch and...it got...heated, but...you passed out and then...I didn't know if it was you or the herb. I felt so guilty, and I thought if you knew you would hate me."

He stumbled over his words, but they came through clearly to Rin. She inhaled sharply and Kohaku expected to see tears, but was surprised to see her smiling for the first time since they arrived.

"You're right we are both pretty lame," Rin giggled, clasping her hand around his, entwining their fingers and squeezing. "I wish you would have told me sooner, but I can tell you for sure that it wasn't just the herb. I suppose I never actually said it before, but...I love you."

Kohaku's heart thumped in his chest, but it clenched at her words and he felt like he had to remember how to breath.

"Me too, Rin" he raised their locked hands and kissed her fingertips that were gripping the back of his knuckles. She smiled and he took the opportunity to pull her closer, kissing away the hot tears streaming down her cheek. He paused lingering for a moment before letting his lips press to hers and reveling in the taste as she returned the gesture.

"I'm glad you didn't...Kohaku," some of Rin's words sounded lost as they parted, her breath shallow from their kiss. "I would want to remember what it feels like when you touch me," she whispered sweetly in his ear pulling her hand free and clasping it around his wrist guiding his palm to rest on her breast.

"Rin-?" Kohaku raised his eyes to hers and she placed a finger to his mouth, silencing him.

"You don't have to be afraid. There are no herbs this time," she kissed him again quickly breaking free and trailing her fingertips across his cheek. "You don't have to question what I want," she wrapped her arm around his neck and resumed their embrace with a certainty, deepening their kiss and falling eagerly into the passion.

Kohaku didn't argue, gently cupping the soft rise of her chest and letting his boldness push aside the fabric of her kimono. Rin moaned as flesh touched flesh, the cloth falling away and Kohaku's attention sending his lips trailing down her chin and neck to the soft pink of her nipples. She felt her temperature rising the blood flushing to her cheeks as she pulled away his clothes in response.

She was cautious not to damage the neatly bound bandages tapped onto his body and he assisted her in removing the garment, tearing it away without a thought of his wounds. Using his discarded shirt as bedding he laid her gently to the soft earth, running his hands down the length of her body before his fingers found the wetness between her thighs. She gasped, letting him probe further, solidifying her yearning with each motion.

Kohaku's nerves made him shake, he barely felt he could keep himself steady as he hovered above her arms placed beside either side of her head. She smiled up at him pushing her hand beneath his and binding them together as they bond with each other. When he entered her it left a feeling that was foreign but sweet. Her body welcomed him, melting away the fears and the weakness and leaving only love to bubble and swell within. His motions pushing their heartbeats faster in a rhythm and she knew in the moment of his ecstasy that she was where she needed to be. Where she wanted to be.

Rin felt herself smile as she lay across his chest listening to the thumping slow with every breath. Kohaku looked at peace, the previous anguish painted on his face evaporated as he buried his nose into her hair.

"Kohaku you don't have to try so hard, I'll make sure to protect you too," she whispered and felt his lips thin into a smile as they pressed softly to her forehead.

"I know you will," she laid heavy across him, yet he felt his heart lighten with her words. He had been through so much in his life, he lost so much, yet for her his affection only grew. The uncertainties that piled on his shoulders everyday, she seemed to brush away with smile. He found himself forgetting sometimes that her resolve masked her own doubts, but he would never make that mistake again. If she could be clarity for him, then he could do the same for her and he would do that for as long as he is able.

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 **Once again I hope you guys had a great holiday. I will try to update as soon as I have the next chapter written. As always feel free to leave comments, critiques or reviews I would love to read them.**

 **Until next time :)**

 **-ErynBenae**


	13. Chapter 13 - Confessions

**What I'm not posting at 12am...what is wrong with me.**

 **As always I hope you enjoy the chapter and feel free to leave a critique I would love to read them.**

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Rin let the breeze brush against her cheek as she held steady, her eyes locked on the target in front of her. It mocked her. It's red paint splintered from the arrows that left notches etched in its surface, all aiming toward the coveted center mark. She felt like she had tried a million times already, but her arrows only seemed to find the wood of the tree trunk, and that didn't count. She took a deep breath and loosed the arrow letting it fly from her fingertips and watched closely as it avoided the target, jamming into the soft bark of the tree. She sighed frustrated and let her arms drop to her side.

"Good job Rin," Kagome chirped, but her trainee twisted her lips into a frown.

"Sorry Kagome," Rin kicked at the dirt and trudged over to get another arrow from the basket propped next to the priestess' feet.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome pointed at the tree. "From what I see every shot has been getting closer and closer to the target."

"Closer is not on it," Rin protested sounding disappointed in her slow pace.

"Very true, but archery is not learned in a day. I can certainly attest to that." Kagome pulled at Rin's slumped shoulders making her stand upright and tapping lightly at her sullen face with her palms. "You know what used to help me?"

"What?"

"A montra."

"Like a chant?" Rin narrowed her eyes confused but Kagome only giggled.

"Kinda. It's just something that you say to yourself to get focused. Make sure you KNOW you can do it. For me it was always 'hit the mark'. You don't have to say it, but it might help...not so much with the bow, but with this," she tapped Rin's head with her finger, reinstating to keep a positive mind.

Rin smiled a bit and nodded.

"I can do this," she repeated, earning a thumbs up as she retrieved the arrow and returned to her position in front of the target.

Once again, she pulled the string taught and took a few more short breaths before she inhaled and held. Her chest extended so far she could feel her lungs burn as she steadied her hand. Her eyes squinted slightly and she took extra caution in maneuvering her body into the stance Kagome instructed. She let the moment linger, listening for the rustle of the leaves to stop before she took her shot.

"Hit the mark," she whispered the words, and let the feathered end of the arrow slip through her fingers. It spun full speed, cutting the silence with its sharpened tip as it flew into motion.

Thunk.

Just as fast as she let it go, it impacted, landing right on the edge of the circular wooden target. She couldn't contain the excitement that washed over her seeing the skinny shaft sticking from the wood. Giddy, she did a celebration dance as Kagome clapped from the side. The shot was far off from a direct hit, but for once she was aiming in the right direction.

The sound of arrows continued to knock in the distance, muffled into a slow irregular heartbeat of the forest. Every thump brought a spark of life. Scattering a bird, scaring a rabbit into its burrow or briefly interrupting the song of the cicadas. Kohaku could hear each one ring in his ears as he used it for motivation to push himself further.

He had his blade drawn, standing in defense as he was stared down by the glaring thunder demon taking slow paces around him. Encouraged by Rin's determination, he had asked Soten to help him train. He never faced off with a weapon like Raigekijin before, and he wasn't sure what to expect. Not to mention Soten was intimidating strength wise, but taking a hint from Shippo's teasing, he was hoping that her armor would make her slow. If he couldn't beat her with strength then his mind would have to make up for it.

Another arrow hit, and three birds fluttered from a nearby treetop. Their wings beat feverishly and a flurry of chirps rang in the distance. Using the sound of the birds as a trigger, Soten lunged nearly knocking Kohaku's blade from his grip. He parried, pushing hard and struggling against the pressure of the thunder pike. Soten whirled around swiping lower, swinging the weapon one handed at his feet. He jumped barely missing the impact and stumbled, regaining his footing a few steps back. Panting from the shock he looked at the demon wide eyed.

"Jeez Soten, I would like to end this training with my feet intact," he frowned and she smirked.

"Then you better dodge," she swung again twirling Raigekijin around her hand and thrusting it toward his belly.

Kohaku spun to the side and let the blade rip his freshly sutured uniform. He could feel the breeze tickling his skin where the fabric separated. Grunting he leapt forward and barrel rolled over the next strike, sliding to a stop on his feet. He saw his opening as Soten's back was to him, and pushed his sword at her. It poked at her armor and she flinched falling back and pushing Kohaku away. He didn't let up, immediately swinging again and reeling as she turned and slashed the blade away. He felt the vibrations ring through his arm as the metal ricochet, sending a spark where they collided. The strikes continued, clanking with the impacts. Soten sent a hard smack that sliced through the metal of Kohaku's sword and snapped it in half.

"Whoops," she picked up the severed end and looked at Kohaku apologetically.

"It's okay," he smiled. "I guess I just have to get serious," as the words left his mouth he pulled his Kusarigama from his hip and let the weighted end of the chain fall to the ground.

"I've been wanting to see you use that thing," her smirk widened and she tossed the broken blade aside.

He spun the sickle with skill, and hurled it at her full force. Soten moved the hilt of Raigekijin to block the blow. Caught off guard by the difference in the weapon she chuckled. Unlike his sword, the hits with the sickle felt heavy, and she deflected it back letting it fall and dig into the dirt. Kohaku tugged the chain and it flipped back to his hand. He tossed again, the attacks coming in quick succession, sending Soten back as she struggled to react against the assault.

As her pike went up in a defensive stance he grinned. Forgoing the bladed end, he tossed the weight of the chain and it wrapped snugly around the pike. He yanked hard and freed the weapon from the demon's hand sending it clanking to his feet. He didn't waste time taking advantage of her confusion and he sent the sickle at her again. She moved jumping back and glanced down at her blade.

Kohaku tried to read her next move, but was caught off guard when she charged at him. He swung at her and she hit the floor rolling and stopping on her back as he drove his blade down. She slid herself upward so the sharp end jammed harmlessly into her chest plate, and she took the opportunity to grab her pike. Still wrapped in the chain she pointed the blade to Kohaku's neck. The cold metal brushed his skin and he froze quickly conceding to his loss.

"Damn, I almost had you too," he sighed removing his neck from her blade and wiping the small line of blood that formed where it pinched his skin.

"Yeah you actually kinda did," she reluctantly agreed sitting up and unraveling the chain from Raigekijin. She was surprised at how well Kohaku was able to handle his own.

"You COULD have used lightning," he sneered knowing that she was nowhere near exerting her full power.

"Did you want me to kill you?" she raised a brow and he laughed.

"Nah, I think i'm fine living a while longer," he stood and wrapped the chain, before offering a hand to help her up.

"You're lucky I still have to let this bruise heal or I would have ended it faster," She had been feeling better after Kagome's treatment, but the soreness still lingered in her lower back. "What made you want to train anyway?"

He smirked. "Rin is learning archery and you are obviously pretty good with that weapon of yours...I just want to keep up." He repeated the words that Rin told him the night before and Soten shrugged.

"I guess," she huffed and slung her thunder pike onto her back.

From the corner of her eye she noticed movement from the distant bushes. Focusing her gaze she saw Shippo walking slowly down the path away from them. Kiyara paced evenly beside him. Their auburn hair made them stand out from the greenery of the forest, but the branches shielded them from a clear view. Soten frowned as Kiyara playfully punched at Shippo's arm and he pouted.

The strolling kitsune hadn't seemed to notice them, but she and Kohaku watched silently as they passed. He looked at Soten and couldn't pinpoint an emotion through her silence until her face scrunched into a visible scowl.

"Not a fan of our new friend?" he questioned snapping her from her glare.

"What?" she whipped her head around and he chuckled.

"You don't seem happy that she is around."

"I just don't trust her."

"Shippo seems to trust her well enough," he watched as the foxes disappeared.

"Yeah...I guess he does," she tried to sound as uninterested as she could, but a hint of aggravation seeped out in her tone. They started to make their way back to the village with little more words spoken between them until Kohaku couldn't refrain from continuing the conversation.

"You know I have known Shippo for a really long time," he started the comment with something general but Soten cut her eyes at him.

"Yeah, so?" she huffed not sure what he was trying to accomplish by bringing up Shippo again.

"He can be pretty secretive about a lot of things, but he always seems to be a good judge of character."

"Wha-what am I supposed to say to that?" Soten stopped walking and looked at Kohaku.

"Nothing, it's just, he has been right most times, so...I don't think you have a reason to mistrust Kiyara."

Soten scoffed and turned away annoyed.

"I'm guessing that you STILL won't like her though," he paused and grinned to himself. "I think that has more to do with you not trusting her around Shippo than it does with you not trusting her as a person."

"She is Shippo's friend, what reason would I have for not trusting her around him?" she looked frazzled and Kohaku realized that he would only make it worse if he continued to pick.

"You wouldn't have a reason, it was only a thought," he put up his hands in defense against her rising temper. "We should head back, I could use some rest," he laughed off his earlier comment and changed the subject, walking off and not giving Soten a chance to respond.

They continued the last few minutes of their walk in silence, but lively chatter started to fill the emptiness as they approached the village. People were hurrying about, tending to the different shops and fields. Soten found herself having to dodge the children ripping through the streets and per Kohaku's initiate, spent some time helping an old woman reclaim the fruit that spilled from her broken basket. Before they could close the distance to the priestess' hut a soft 'mew' drew their attention and a yellow cat sprang to Kohaku's feet purring as it rubbed against his ankle.

"Kirara," Kohaku exclaimed cradling the feline in his arms. "Good to see you girl," he stroked her head and she nestled closer.

"She missed you, you really should have taken her along," the mystery voice came from behind, as Sango walked up with Miroku and her brood.

"UNCLE KOHAKU!" the twins clung to both his legs and the younger boy once again tried to squeeze into the hug.

"Sister, Miroku, girls it's good to see you guys too," he laughed and let Kirara down so he could clutch the children closer. He eventually waltzed over to Sango and pulled her into a hug being mindful of the tiny baby bundled to her chest. "Healthy baby number four, I knew he would be a strong one," he looked at the infant and smiled. "You did a good job looking out for them Kirara."

"Mew!"

"She would have been of better use looking out for you," Sango pinched his nose and he frowned.

"Now Sango, Kohaku is a big boy," Miroku defended. "Kirara keeps a watchful eye, but sometimes I think he wants to do things on his own."

"What are you guys doing here?" Kohaku chuckled snuggling his nephew to his chest.

"We live here remember?" Sango thumped him on the head. "We knew you guys were in town after we met you friend yesterday," she pointed to Soten and the demon nodded. "Since you don't seem to be interested to come and see us, we thought we would come see you."

"Sorry sister, things have just been...hectic," he rubbed his neck and turned to Soten. "Why don't you head back, I think I might owe my family a bit of personal time while i'm around."

"Whatever," Soten huffed and trudged of toward the shrine as Kohaku peeked at Sango's baby swaddled in her arms.

It only took her a few moments to make it back to the shrine, but as she moved she could feel the curious eyes staring down her back. The last couple times she walked through town there were hardly any people on the streets. However, in the middle of the afternoon there were plenty of strangers around to trade whispers about who she was as she walked by. Seeing the population begin to thin and the shrine get bigger on the horizon felt like a relief.

Finally she could see her salvation in site. An excited Rin stood outside explaining to Miyu the results of her training. She flexed the bow and made a show of telling the motion of the arrows. They noticed her and eagerly waved her over.

"SOTEN!" Rin hugged her, too wrapped up in her enthusiasm to care about the uncomfortable shock on the thunder demon's face. "You should have seen how close I got to hitting marks today. It was so COOL!" she squealed squeezing tighter.

"I guess that means I will be training with YOU next time then?" Soten pat Rin's head like a puppy.

"Were you training too?"

"Kohaku asked Soten to train with him a little after you left this morning," Miyu chimed in answering the question for her. "You all left me here. I was so bored," she pouted.

"You wanna learn how to fight too?" Soten balled her fist and shook it in Miyu's direction.

Miyu stuck out her tongue and Soten pulled her into a gentle headlock, rubbing her knuckles into her scalp.

"Let go Soten, you smell all sweaty!"

"Speaking of sweaty," Rin sniffed her clothing. "I could use a bath, what do you say girls?"

"Oh, can I go too?" Kiyara jogged up to them from up the road and paused at Soten's frown. "Sorry I wasn't eavesdropping or anything, I just overheard is all."

"Aren't you busy?" Soten gave a deadpan look and glared at Shippo walking up behind them.

"I'm sick of hanging around with Shippo," she whined putting up her hand to Shippo, dismissing him.

"Then why did you come here?" he scolded and she rolled her eyes.

"Because I can."

"Go home."

"No! I think I will go with them. Maybe I could tell them stories about you being terrible at training," she crossed her arms and Shippo made a mocking puppet motion with his hand.

"Blah, blah whatever. Don't bother my friends okay."

"Your just jealous because we can spend QUALITY time together, right ladies?" she emphasized 'quality' as she clung to Miyu's arm earning a growl from the other fox.

"Sure, we would love to hear stories about Shippo," Miyu smiled accepting Kiyara's request.

"Thank you Peach Pie," she pinched Miyu's cheek playfully.

"Hump" Shippo huffed, "Don't believe a word she says," he flicked her forehead as he sauntered off.

"Shall we?" Kiyara ignored him and turned to the girls excited.

They gathered a fresh change of clothes and made their way through the scattered trees toward the river. There was an area not far from the shrine where the water pooled into a pond fed by a small waterfall that rose about a foot from the surface. Kiyara wasted no time stripping her clothes and tossing them aside wagging her bare butt as she plunged into the pool.

"EEEP!" she shrieked shooting up from the water and clutched her chest. "It's cold!"

"Yeah, that's why you don't go diving in head first," Soten mumbled as she unstrapped her armor. Traveling with Rin and Miyu for the last few weeks made her numb to bathing with people. After they'd burst in unannounced to join her several times she just decided to stop caring.

Kiyara wadded from the water and pranced about, gathering a little pile of sticks. She placed it neatly beside the waters edge and coaxed it into a little fire. She waved her hand across the flame and it began to glow a faint purple hue before a fog wafted over the area.

"What are you doing?" Rin paused as she folded her discarded kimono across a nearby tree branch.

"I am making it warmer," Kiyara spoke proudly watching the heavy cloud shield the water. After a few moments the settled fog started to rise like steam and Kiyara poked her big toe through the water's surface.

"Much better," she sighed and melted into the pool, leaning back and floating to rest her back to the smooth rocky wall.

"Seriously?" Miyu followed her lead, testing the temperature with her foot and sinking into the warmth. "Wow it really is more comfortable."

Rin looked at Soten and shrugged. They both climbed in snuggling to the wall and let the warm water lap over them. Soten felt her joints loosen and slumped back untying her braid and letting her hair float aimlessly around her. She shut her eyes and let her body relax, listening to Miyu giggle as she rubbed the water over her shoulders.

"So Kiyara, what's your story?" Rin asked, looking over at the Kitsune expectedly.

"Yeah, I've never seen Shippo be so aggravated with a lady before," Miyu smiled.

"That's because I know how to push his buttons," Kiyara winked.

"You guys seem to be really close," Rin responded raising a curious brow.

"We have shared a lot together over the years," Kiyara scrubbed at her tail lost in thought.

"Oh please," Soten scoffed keeping her eyes closed, but listening to their chat. "You come here acting like your all buddy, buddy with Shippo, but he seems to be pretty clear that he wants you to leave. You're only gonna get in the way of the mission the longer you stay."

"Soten," Rin scolded but Kiyara laughed off her comment,

"He wants me to leave so badly because he doesn't want me to embarrass him. He told me some things that I am sure he wouldn't want you guys to know," she grinned.

"Oh like what?" Miyu swooshed over excitedly.

"Do you know why he hates the heat so much?," Kiyara chuckled to herself.

"No, though I have noticed that he gets really grouchy when it's hot," Miyu recalled their river trip and how mopey he was.

"Well he told me once that when he was young he saw his dad training near a hot spring. He wanted to be like him, so when he first started training he went to the springs too. While he is there he gets all queasy and passes out, when his dad finds him, he goes to carry him back home and he pukes all over him. He said his dad smelled like roasted fish for weeks and he has never been able to stand humid heat without wanting to throw up."

Soten sighed as the course of laughter filled the air. Quickly scrubbing herself she stood from the pool and wadded out to grab her clothes.

"Where are you going Soten? Is something wrong?" Rin gave her a questioning look.

"I just ain't in the mood for mindless chatter," she didn't bother to dry herself, before she grabbed her clothes and pulled them sloppily over her body.

"Don't be like that Soten," Rin frowned, moving closer to the edge of the pool.

"Don't be like what?" the thunder demon shot back and glared over her shoulder only getting a scowl in return.

"You don't like me very much do you?" Kiyara spoke coyly, giving a sly smile. "I got a pretty rough vibe from you the second I arrived here."

"...And?" Soten rolled her eyes. "I don't have to like you."

"Soten, why are you being so mean?" Miyu stepped in crossing her arms.

"I never said I was nice."

"SOTEN!" Miyu protested.

"You're being a jerk Soten," Rin scolded.

"Fine, i'll be a jerk then," Rin began to respond but the thunder demon stomped away, not bothering to wait.

"What is her problem?" Miyu complained watching her disappear behind the trees.

"Is she not ALWAYS like that?" Kiyara looked between them both and they sighed.

"Kinda, but she normally isn't that hard to deal with," Rin defended.

"She always has an attitude though. It doesn't really go away, you just get used to it," Miyu teased.

"Good, I like her fire," Kiyara chuckled slightly and shifted her spot in the water.

"It's more like electricity actually," Miyu joked earning a laugh from Kiyara.

Soten could hear the giggling as she distanced herself from the river carrying her armor and boots in her hand. She tugged on her clothes in attempts to get them to stop sticking to her body. It was a bad choice to dress before she let herself dry off. She neared the village and could still hear people shuffling about. Glancing through the brush she could see them scurrying around, so she promptly headed in the opposite direction. She pushed back through the trees and chose to flop down on a fallen trunk. The rotted wood creaked under her weight and she peeled the molded bark, squishing it to crumbles between her fingers. It didn't take long for what remained of the sunlight to turn the forest orange, almost making it look like it was on fire.

She considered going back, but knowing she would probably have to answer for her behavior made her chose to linger. Instead she made a game of rocketing ants from a catapult made of splintered wood. She sent them toward the sun, but they always crossed her vision as they tumbled back down, falling into the grass. Footsteps started to break her concentration and she aimed the next ant their direction.

Shippo emerged from the trees and she let the insect fly. It fell nowhere near him, and he furrowed his brow at her confused.

"Aren't you supposed to be sick?" she mumbled, reloading another ant.

"I feel a lot better actually," he still sounded stuffy, but she could hear the improvement from yesterday.

"Great, then have you come to scold me too?" Soten huffed under her breath as she reloaded her tiny catapult.

"Should I be scolding you?" he question, dodging the ant flying at him and sitting on the opposite end of the trunk.

"I am assuming you 'friend' has told you what happened."

"No, but Rin did mention that you were being ruder than normal." She ignored him, until he snatched the catapult from her hand and tossed it aside. "You know you can't always act like a shitty person, it might stick."

"I AM a shitty person."

"Are you?" Shippo asked, feigning surprise. "I mean you are pretty shitty when you want to be."

"Great we agree, is this conversation over now?"

"Of course not. I am obligated to ask if there is a reason you declared war on Kiyara?"

"I didn't 'declare war'," she huffed. "I just don't like her."

"Because…" he waited for her to continue and she frowned.

"I don't have to like the same people you do, do I?"

"No, but did she say something to you?" The question caught Soten off guard. "I know her and she has a habit of being a little...wild."

"She made it extremely clear that she knows you VERY well. I just didn't care to listen."

"And that has nothing to do with you being upset?"

"Why would that have anything to do with it? You know…" she stumbled on her words. "Why don't you go check on her?"

"I already did," he sighed. "I don't have to worry as much about her though."

"And you have to worry about me?" Soten's voice started to raise as her frustration mounted.

"SHE actually tells me when things are bothering her, YOU on the other hand…"

"I WHAT!? WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!" she stood shaking in anger. "THAT I WAS BEING A JERK, THAT I JUDGED HER OFF SOMETHING STUPID BECAUSE I WAS JEALOUS!" She paused and caught her breath. "...I was jealous." She stated plainly, glancing at Shippo then cutting her eyes away.

"Is that an admission?" he asked shocked at her confession.

"What if it is?" She stared at her feet, speaking into the grass.

"Well, everyone gets jealous," he too found himself choosing the sight of his toes over eye contact. "Can I ask what you were jealous of?"

"You want to know something? When we were stuck in that cave and you told me stories about your dad, it made me feel," she paused "I don't know, special. You never talk about him. Not to Rin or Kohaku, but you talked about him to me. It felt like you trusted me with him. It meant a lot, knowing our...history. But Kiyara knew stories about him too, so I guess they weren't what I thought."

"Well, that's not fair," he leaned forward resting his chin on his palms and letting the weight of his head push his elbows into his knees. "Who are you to tell what is special and what isn't? How do you know one story didn't mean more than the other?"

"Oh please, they are just stupid stories," she scoffed.

"Exactly," he agreed, "They're just stories." He considered her words and let the moment linger in the air, making the silence feel heavy. "You are right though, I don't talk about him that often," he eventually spoke up smirking to himself. "But you know whenever stories do come up, it's normally because sharing with that person makes me feel closer to them."

"Closer?" she finally took a moment to glance back at him.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Rin and Kohaku have been my friends for years. We have been through hell and back, and I never really felt like I needed to tell them about my dad. But with someone like you, I always feel like the more I know you, the more distant you become." Soten frowned at the comment, narrowing her eyes and earning a laugh from Shippo. " Kiyara was the same way. For a while I am pretty sure she hated me, but whenever I told her stories she always listened. Before I knew it she was following me everywhere during training and she became someone I could trust. I was hoping talking to you, would do the same."

"You don't trust me?" she sneered plopping back onto the log beside him.

"I didn't," he said the words without batting an eye. "I didn't really know what to expect from you. Truthfully I still don't, but knowing you would be on this mission I decided to go into it hoping for the best instead of looking for the worst."

Soten pouted, feeling the embarrassment creep onto her face. She chewed her lip and turned her eyes any direction other than at the fox. Hunching over with her knees in her chest, she eventually locked eyes on the ant crawling across her foot. She saw it's broken antenna and wondered if it was one that she launched earlier. She used her toe to push it to the tree, and watched it limp around stranded in a cavern of rotted bark. Shippo placed a clawed hand on her head and ruffled her hair, leaving it sticking up wildly.

"You listening to me?" he leaned closer and she growled.

"I already admitted I was jealous I am not going to say anything else."

"Well since you can go as far as saying that you're jealous, could you answer the question I asked you the other day?" he probed waiting for her to respond

She sat upright creasing her brow in thought. She sighed and looked him in the eye for the first time since the conversation began.

"No," she stood and slowly started to walk through the trees.

"Really Soten?"

"Yeah," she paused turning around to snicker at his stunned face. "I told you, when we finish this mission and I have every intention of making you wait until then."

"Why?"

"Because it's fun," she sang as she turned to saunter of, listening to his pattering footsteps as he jogged after her.

"Don't you at least think you owe someone an apology," he grabbed her shoulder and she frowned. "Soten-"

"Fiiiine," she whined pulling his grip away.

"Why are you so difficult woman?"

"Are you done?" she continued to pout. "I think I have had enough embarrassingly stupid conversations today."

"And who's fault is that I wonder?" she glared at him again and he chuckled. "I do have one more thing though." He reached into his kimono and pulled out a dented and scuffed toy top and dangled it in front of her. "Kohaku found this, I believe it's yours."

She had lost almost all of her knick knacks on the river, so she felt her heart warm a bit seeing the trinket. But she immediately dispelled her excitement in favor of giving him a hard stare.

"You wanted something special right?" He coaxed. "I don't share my toys with anyone, just you."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know," he grinned. "Maybe I will tell you when this is all over." He mocked her earlier statement and her face twisted. She reached to snatch for the top and he yanked it back. "What do you say?"

"GIVE IT!" she yelled reaching again, but was too slow to catch him.

She lunged and he tossed the toy back into his grasp like a yo-yo closing his grip around it. She caught his wrist and he relaxed his arm.

"You really should learn manners you know," he felt her hold loosen and lowered his hand to meet hers. He let the top slip into her opened palm and pressed it to her skin when he pushed his finger through hers, entwining them together.

"What are you doing?" she felt her cheeks warm looking at their hands locked together, yet she didn't pull away.

"I'm giving it back to you," he squeezed a little tighter, pressing the toy hard enough to leave a light imprint. "I couldn't save the crayons though."

The mention of the tiny wax sticks made Soten eyes widen. She hoped to keep them hidden to avoid an awkward situation, so she had no idea what to say at being caught with them. Shippo chuckled and she managed to look at him. His face was just as red as hers and she felt a bit better about being embarrassed.

Their eyes met for a brief moment and Shippo's laughter tapered away behind his smile. That too slowly began to fade into a much more relaxed expression as he leaned closer. Soten could feel the familiar warmth radiating from his body and her brain couldn't tell her what to think. She felt him inch closer and her free hand instinctively pressed to his chest and pushed. The halfhearted shove didn't make him back away, but he paused. He looked at her, like he was asking for permission and she froze staring back.

"Just kiss her already," a creepy familiar voice whispered from behind them. Kiyara stood with a hand on her hip and a raised brow.

"KIYARA!" Shippo yelled immediately feeling Soten jerk her hand free, taking the top with it. She shielded her face from both the foxes and jogged off not bothering to say anything. "THE FUCK KIYARA?!" Shippo jabbed her arm.

"You were taking so long to make a move I was wondering if you even knew what to do," she teased deepening the color on his cheeks.

"How long were you watching?"

'Long enough," she leaned against the tree triumphant. "I had to get her back for being sassy with me earlier, so I guess I can call it even."

"Couldn't you have done that ANY other time?" he fumed.

"Well I had to get you too, so think of it as killing two birds with one stone," she winked, pinching at his cheek.

"You know, you are like a bad sibling turned up to a thousand," he grumbled as he walked past her to head back to the village.

"Good thing we aren't related," she sneered walking after him.

Ahead of them Soten turned from the path and stumbled through the foliage to lean at the small creek feeding the river. She went to get a scoop of water when she felt the top fall to the grass. She picked it up and clutched it to her chest feeling her heart beating rapidly beneath it. She took a few breaths and swallowed hard, still not feeling her pulse calm. Her mind kept returning to the thought of what just transpired. How close Shippo was, and how she didn't stop him.

No.

She didn't WANT to stop him, she corrected herself. She pocketed the toy and splashed a generous amount of water across her face. She let the cool liquid drip down her chin and tossed another dose across her head. She shut her eyes and let her hands rest threaded through thick locks of hair.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked her reflection as it rippled in the moonlight. She stared back at herself, but the expression she wore made her look unrecognizable. A part of her just wanted this trip to be over, but it was getting harder to ignore the stranger staring back at her.

* * *

 **There you go another chapter. Feel free to leave a critique or comment if you like and once again thanks for the read and support of the story. I have been enjoying writing it.**

 **Until next chapter**

 **-ErynBenae**


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